NDIAN 
rOLK  [ORE 


DEVOE 


I 


SCENE  IN  THE  KANSAS  VALLEY. 


LEGENDS     O  F 
THE      K    A    W 


THE-- FOLK -LORE 


THE    INDIANS    OF    THE 
KANSAS  RIVER  VALLEY. 

BY 

CARRIE    DEVOE. 


FRANKMN  HUDSON  PUBLISHING  Co., 

KANSAS  CITY,  MO. 

1904. 


FRANKLIN  HUDSON  PUBLISHING  Co. 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 


CONTENTS. 


INDIAN   MYTHOLOGY. 

The  heroes  of  Kansas  in  the  early  days. — The  first 
inhabitants. — Pathos  of  Indian  traditions  and 
their  tragic  interest. — Interpretation  of  myths. — 
Tradition  of  the  Mississippi  Valley. — Theory  of  a 
dual  soul. — Ancient  religion  of  the  North  Amer 
ican  Indians. — Ideas  of  Divinity. — Spirits. — Com 
munication  with  the  unseen  world. — Description 
of  heaven,  found  in  the  diary  of  Rev.  S.  M.  Irvin. 
— Algonquin  prayer  to  Father  Allouez. — The  to 
tem. — The  folk-lore  of  the  Indian  his  literature. — 
Myth  of  a  prehistoric  world. — The  transforma 
tion. — The  burning  earth. — Formation  of  the  stars. 
—The  Water-Maiden.— The  Earth-Maiden.— Mich- 
abou. — Worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies. — Sacri 
fices. — Relation  of  dogs  to  the  moon. — The  Horned 
Serpent. — The  Prince  of  Rattlesnakes. — Hiawatha, 
the  Indian  Messiah. — The  Red  Swan. — The  Pipe 
of  Peace. — Thunder  and  lightning. — The  Storm 
Giant.  —  Rainmakers.  —  The  Wild  Parsnip.  —  The 
Spirit  of  Fire. — Fire  legend  of  the  Navajos. — 
The  Shawnee  and  Delaware  type  of  life. — The  im 
agery  of  the  red  man. — Knowledge  of  the  funda 
mental  truths  of  nature. — Earliest  record  of  the 
Middle  West. — Dominant  tribes. — The  Paducas. — 
The  emigrant  nations 15 


4  LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW. 

II. 

THE   PAWNEES. 

Wanderings  in  Kansas  and  Nebraska. — Origin. — The 
word  "Pani."  —  Imitation  of  wolves.  —  Bands.  — 
Tuhk-pah-huks-taht.  — Skidi-rah-ru. — Tuh-wa-hok- 
a-sha.  —  Tu-hi-'ts-pi-yet  —  Hunting  in  ancient 
times.  —  Weapons.  —  Utensils.  —  Government.  - 
Dress.  —  Lodges.  —  Music.  —  Courtship  and  mar 
riage. — Religious  ceremonies. — The  Buffalo  Dance. 
— Departure  for  semi-annual  buffalo  hunt. — The 
surround. — Ti-ra-wa,  the  Pawnee  Deity. — The  Na- 
hti-rac.  —  Sacrifices.  —  The  wonderful  horse.  — 
Homes  of  the  Nu-hu-rac. — The  Nu-hu-rac  doctors. 
— Medicine  men  and  priests. — Belief  in  a  pre 
historic  race. — Destruction  of  the  giants. — Human 
sacrifices. — A  Legend  of  Kansas, — Pit-a-le-shar'-u. 
— Hostilities  against  other  nations. — Villages  of 
the  lowas  and  Sacs.— War  with  the  lowas,  1839. — 
Battle  amid  the  sunflowers. — Sale  of  Pawnee 
lands. — Removal  to  the  Indian  Territory. — Suc 
cess  in  agriculture 34 

III. 

THE  SIOUX. 

Early  home. — Wanderings  in  the  Mississippi  Basin. — 
Present  location. — Origin  of  name. — Meaning  of 
word  "Dakota."  —  Pantomime.  —  Divisions  of  na 
tion.— Relation  of  chief  to  people. — Disposition  of 
bodies  of  the  dead. — Eagle  Eye  and  Scarlet  Dove. 
— Slavery  of  women.— Vanity  of  men. — Language 
of  the  feather. — Decoration  of  the  person. — Plural 
marriage. — Story  of  Anepetusa. — Belief  in  four 


LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW.  5 

souls.  —  A  typical  prayer.  —  Omens. — Worship. — 
Animals  in  Dakota  theology. — O-an-tay-hee. — The 
creation.  — Hay-o-kah. — Taku-shkan-shkan. — Wa- 
keen-yan. — Unk-tay-he. — Chah-o-ter-dah. — Whitte- 
kah-gah.  —  Wa-hun-de-dan.  —  Fairies. — Giants. — 
Giant's  party.— Feasts. — The  Wa-keen. — Initiation 
of  the  medicine  men. — War  parties. — War  Dance. 
Sun  Dance. — Moral  code.— Degree  of  manhood. — 
Incidents  in  the  Life  of  Ta-ton-ka-I-o-ton-ka. — 
Spotted  Tail  and  Red  Cloud. — Betrothal  and  death 
of  daughter  of  Spotted  Tail. — Water  Carrier,  the 
wife  of  Lone  Elk. — Present  condition  of  the 
Sioux 67 

IV. 

THE  RAWS'  AND  OSAGES. 

Origin. — Manners  and  customs. — Savage  proclivities. 
—Village  of  American  Chief. — Village  of  Fool 
Chief.— Removal  to  Council  Grove. — The  Victory 
that  made  Wa-hon-ga-shee  a  famous  Chief. — The 
War  Dance. — Paying  off  old  scores. — Osages  and 
Raws  on  police  duty.  —  Superstitions.  —  Funeral 
ceremonies. — Creation  story  of  the  Osages. — Ter 
ritory. — Cessions. — Feasts. — Present  condition.  .89 

V. 

THE  DELA WARES. 

Lineage. — Language. — The  term  "Lenape." — Subjuga 
tion  by  the  Iroquois. — Peace  treaty  with  William 
Penn. — Migrations.— Legends  preserved  by  mis 
sionaries. — The  virgin  who  fell  from  heaven. — 
Rikeron. — The  tortoise  in  Algonquin  pictography. 
— Symbol  of  the  earth. — The  pristine  age. — The 


6  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

earth  submerged.— The  ancient  turtle.— Rescue  of 
the  survivors.— Land  supported  by  a  turtle.— First 
home  of  the  Lenape. — Travels  and  conquests. — 
Land  of  giants.— Fortifications  of  the  enemy. — 
Mounds. — Divisions  of  the  nation. — Legend  of  the 
Hairless  Bear. — Pictograph  system.— Rafinesque. 
Walam  Olum. — Wanderings  of  the  Delawares. — 
Tamenend.— The  Lover's  Leap. — Onoko. — Lenape 
in  Kansas. — The  Battle  of  the  Plains. — Removal 
to  the  Indian  Territory 103 

VI. 

THE  WYANDOTS. 

Origin. — Location  at  the  time  of  the  discovery  of 
America. — Alliance  with  the  Senecas. — Termina 
tion  of  peace. — Hatred  of  the  Iroquois. — Settle 
ment  at  Detroit. — Settlement  in  Ohio  and  Michi 
gan.  —  Clans.  —  Government.  —  Religion. — Gods. 
— Prayer  of  the  Huron. — Legend  of  Sayadio. — The 
White  Panther. — Hurons  leaders  in  the  councils 
of  nations. — Keepers  of  the  Council  Fire. — Wam 
pum  belts. — Corn  Dance. — Clan  names. — Visions 
of  the  Wyandot  maiden. — Wyandots  in  the  War 
of  1812.  —  Roundhead.  —  Warrow. — Walk-in-the- 
Water.— Big  Tree. — War  with  Cherokees. — Chief 
Splitlog. — Last  religious  feast  and  dance  of  the 
Wyandots. — William  Walker.— Silas  Armstrong. — 
Matthew  Walker. — Governor  Walker. — Matthias 
Splitlog.  —  Emigration  to  Kansas.  —  Intelligence 
arid  education.— Accomplishments. — Belle  of  the 
nation.— Sense  of  humor. — Elder  Dennison  and 
John  Grayeyes.  —  The  Triumph  of  Chudaquana 
over  the  Power  of  Witchcraft. — Romance  of  a 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  7 

Wyandot  girl.— Present  location  of  the  people. — 
Tribal  relations. — Absorption  by  the  white  race. 
127 

VII. 

THE  POTTAWATOMIES. 

Descent.  —  Alliances.  —  Branches. — Location. — Part 
in  War  of  1812. — Suna-we-wone. — Treaty  of  peace. 
Cessions. — Emigration  to  Kansas. — Present  loca 
tion. — Belief  in  Kitchenonedo  and  Matchemondo. 
— First  inhabitants  of  the  earth. — Submersion. — 
New  World. — Legend  of  the  five  young  men. — 
Menweshma. — Encounter  with  the  Pawnees. — 
Wa-baim-see. — Story  of  the  Fiat-Boat. — Defeat  by 
the  Osages. — Revenge  upon  the  Osage  chief. — 
Wa-baun-see's  journey  to  Washington. — Death 
155 

VIII. 

THE  SHAWNEES. 

First  emigrant  tribe  in  Kansas. — Ancient  home  of 
the  nation. — Defeat  by  the  Iroquois. — Flight 
southward. — Return. — Settlement  near  Cape  Gir- 
ardeau. — Removal  to  Kansas. — Removal  to  the 
Indian  Territory. — Shawnees  of  Algonquin  stock. 
— Gypsies  of  the  wilderness. — Creation  theory. — 
Doctrine  of  pre-natal  existence. — An  incident  of 
war  with  the  Pawnees. — Belief  in  descent  from 
one  of  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel. — Holy  of  Holies. — 
Language. — Adventures  of  a  trader. — Maune",  the 
Chippewa  Girl. — A  Fragment  of  History  from  the 
War  of  the  Races. — Chinwa,  the  White  Warrior. 
—The  Tragic  Death  of  the  Son  of  Chief  Lay-law- 
she-kaw 167 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Scene  in  the  Kansas  Valley Frontispiece 

A  Pawnee  Buffalo  Hunt 40 

Pit-a-le-shar'-u 64 

Ta-ton-ka-I-yo-ton-ka  (Sitting  Bull) 80 

Sioux  Infant 88 

Wa-hon-ga-shee  (No  Fool) 96 

Ni-co-man 114 

Tecumseh 190 

The  Shawnee  Prophet 202 

Che-la-tha..  ..210 


"Ye  whose  hearts  are  fresh  and  simple, 
Who  have  faith  in  God  and  Nature, 
Who  believe,  that  in  all  ages, 
Every  human  heart  is  human, 
That  in  even  savage  bosoms, 
There  are  longings,  yearnings,  strivings, 
For  the  good  they  comprehend  not, 
That  the  feeble  hands  and  helpless, 
Groping  blindly  in  the  darkness, 
Touch  God's  right  hand  in  that  darkness, 
And  are  lifted  np  and  strengthened;— 
Listen  to  this  simple  story." 

—Longfellow. 


INTRODUCTION. 

A  legend,  according  to  Webster,  is  any 
story,  be  it  truth  or  fiction,  which  dates  back 
to  early  days.  In  this  connection,  it  may  be 
of  interest  to  the  reader  to  know  that  the 
stories  of  adventure  in  this  volume  are  found 
ed  upon  real  events;  but,  wherever  it  has 
seemed  best,  names  have  been  changed.  In 
committing  to  paper  the  histories  of  Maune', 
the  Chippewa  girl,  and  Henry  Rogers,  there 
has  been  practically  no  deviation  from  the 
facts  as  related  by  their  descendants. 

The  incidents  described  in  the  last  story 
were  narrated  by  the  daughter  of  an  Indian 
agent,  who  lived  many  years  with  the  Shaw- 
nees.  The  writer  has  spent  a  portion  of  her 
life  in  the  West,  and  having  been  located  for 
a  number  of  years  in  an  old  mission  town, 
lias  witnessed  the  bean  dance,  the  corn  dance 
and  the  war  dance.  Her  small  strength  has 
been  exerted,  more  than  once,  to  assist  in  beat 
ing  back  the  edges  of  a  great  fire,  which 
threatened  to  creep  over  the  narrow  strip  of 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

plowed  ground  outside  the  fences  enclosing 
a  prairie  home.  Reliable  information  has  been 
obtained  through  conversation  with  old  set 
tlers  and  their  families.  An  army  officer, 
whose  long  life  in  the  Indian  country  renders 
his  statements  of  great  value,  detailed  many 
facts  concerning  the  Sioux.  Interviews  with 
the  natives  and  their  descendants  have  brought 
out  strange  traditions  and  superstitions.  The 
works  of  Henry  K.  Schoolcraft — regarding  the 
habits,  customs  and  languages  of  the  aborig 
ines, — the  writings  of  George  Bird  GrinneH 
and  Daniel  G.  Brinton  have  proved  exceed 
ingly  helpful. 

Although  statistics  show,  within  the  last 
few  years,  an  apparent  increase  of  the  Indian 
population  of  the  United  States,  compara 
tively  few  included  therein,  are  of  purely  In 
dian  extraction.  The  red  race,  as  a  separate 
people,  is  fading  from  the  earth;  and  there 
will  come  a  time  when  the  mythology  of  Amer 
ica  will  be  almost  as  eagerly  studied  as  that 
of  Greece  and  Rome. 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

The  general  public  has  an  erroneous  idea 
of  the  Indian  of  the  present  time.  He  has 
passed  through  the  first  period — that  of  wild- 
ness  and  barbaric  splendor, — and,  emerging 
from  the  second  epoch — the  state  of  drunken 
semi-civilization, — has  entered  upon  a  career 
of  greater  mental  activity.  With  the  exception 
of  a  few  strong  inherited  tendencies,  he  now 
differs  but  little  from  his  paler-faced  brother. 
The  prevailing  notion  concerning  the  natives 
has  been  formed  from  the  worst  class — the 
idle,  uncleanly  beggars.  It  is  unjust  to  judge 
a  whole  people  by  the  most  degraded  speci 
mens.  Through  intermarriage,  the  remnants 
of  the  aborigines  are  rapidly  becoming  a  part 
of  the  white  race  and  engrafting  upon  it,  not 
only  their  peculiarities  of  temperament  but 
also  their  strength  and  determination. 

It  is  a  source  of  regret  to  those  who  are 
awake  to  the  knowledge  that  there  is  a  val 
uable  field  of  literature  in  Indian  folklore, 
that  so  little  has  been  recorded.  Even  the 
best  libraries  contain  few  works  upon  the 
subject. 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

Inspired  with  a  desire  to  contribute  an 
atom  to  this  slowly  accumulating  literature; 
to  preserve  the  stories  which  herein  appear 
in  print  for  the  first  time;  and  to  awaken  a 
deeper  interest  in  the  old,  oft-recounted  tra 
ditions —  the  author,  trusting  to  the  indul 
gence  of  the  public,  ventures  to  submit  the 
following 


LEGENDS  OF 


INDIAN  MYTHOLOGY. 

The  history  of  Kansas  has  been  of  peculiar 
interest  to  the  world  at  large,  by  reason  of 
the  struggles  of  ante-bellum  days.  The  ad 
ventures  of  John  Brown  of  Osawatomie  and 
the  achievements  of  General  Lane,  Governor 
Robinson,  and  other  heroes  of  that  period 
have  formed  the  nucleus  of  many  a  story  and 
song.  All  honor  to  the  men  who  labored  so 
successfully  in  the  cause  of  freedom!  There 
is  another,  equally  brave,  though  less  fortu 
nate,  race  that  wandered  over  the  rolling 
prairies  of  the  Sunflower  State  and  camped 
along  its  rivers;  a  race  stern,  taciturn,  and 
ever  ready  to  do  battle  for  home  and  liberty. 
Like  the  buffalo,  former  monarch  of  the 
plains,  it  has  gradually  diminished  in  num 
bers.  Extinction  or  amalgamation  is  now  a 
question  of  only  a  few  brief  years.  This  na- 
15 


1 6  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

tiqn  furnishes  a  romantic  background,  full 
of'yicfi  t^pugj*<  soinber  color,  to  the  later 
rccordcpf  .the'  great'  West. 

\  {  ^Whp'.jijan;  say.  ttiat  }the  traditions  of  the 
red  man  lack  pathos,  or  that  his  character  is 
devoid  of  the  elements  of  nobleness,  self-sac 
rifice  and  even  martyrdom?  Rude,  wild  and 
imperfect  though  it  be,  his  folklore  tells  the 
story  of  a  people,  barbarous,  it  is  true,  but 
strong  in  their  attachments  and  devoted  to 
their  faith.  Many  Indian  myths,  adventures 
and  scraps  of  history  are  full  of  deep — often 
tragic — interest  to  one  who  delves  in  legend 
ary  lore.  Like  the  tales  of  ancient  Greece,  as 
explained  by  Buskin  in  Queen  of  the  Air,  each 
wierd  story  admits  of  more  than  one  inter 
pretation.  Sometimes  a  great  spiritual  truth 
lies  hidden  in  its  quaint  phrases — sometimes 
a  scientific  fact. 

There  was  an  idea,  current  among  the  In 
dians  who  roamed  over  the  central  portion  of 
the  United  States,  that  at  one  time  in  the 
long  past,  the  rivers  of  the  Mississippi  basin 
filled  the  entire  valley,  and  only  great  ele- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  17 

rations  were  visible.  Geology  substantiates 
this  teaching.  The  theory  of  a  dual  soul  ap 
proached  very  close  to  the  teachings  of  mod 
ern  psychologists.  While  one  soul  was  sup 
posed  to  remain  in  the  body,  its  companion 
was  free  to  depart  on  excursions  during  sleep. 
After  the  death  of  the  material  man,  it  went 
to  the  Indian  elysium  and  might,  if  desirous, 
return,  in  time,  to  earth,  to  be  born  again. 

Like  that  of  all  uncivilized  races,  the  an 
cient  religion  of  the  North  American  Indian 
was  incoherent.  Association  with  Europeans 
produced  changes.  Doctrines  before  unknown 
to  the  red  man  were  engrafted  upon  his  faith. 
Some  writers  maintain  that  it  is  doubtful  if 
the  idea  of  a  single  divinity  had  been  devel 
oped  previous  to  intercourse  with  missionaries. 
Brinton  asserts  that  the  word  used  by  the 
natives  to  indicate  God.  is  analogous  to  none 
in  any  European  tongue,  conveying  no  sense 
of  personal  unity.  It  has  been  rendered  Spirit, 
Demon,  God,  Devil,  Mystery  and  Magic.  The 
Dakota  word  is  Wakan  (above),  the  Iroquois, 
Oki;  the  Algonquin,  Manito.  God  and  heaven 


1 8  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

were  probably  linked  together  before  there 
was  sufficient  advancement  to  question  wheth 
er  heaven  were  material  and  God  spiritual; 
whether  the  Deity  were  one  or  many.  Good 
Spirit  and  Great  Spirit  are  evidently  of  more 
recent  origin  and  were,  perhaps,  first  sug 
gested  by  missionaries,  the  terms  being  ap 
plied  to  the  white  man's  God,  and  adopted 
by  the  Indian  and  applied  to  his  own.  The 
number  of  spirits  was  practically  unlimited, 
communication  being  usually  in  the  hands  of 
the  medicine  men,  although  the  unseen  world 
was  often  heard  from  directly  in  dreams. 

A  description  of  heaven — by  Wampasha, 
an  Iowa  Indian — was  found  in  the  diary  of 
Reverend  S.  M.  Irvin,  a  devoted  missionary 
among  the  lowas  and  Sacs.  It  reads: 

"The  Big  Village  (heaven)  is  situated  near 
the  great  water,  toward  the  sunrise,  and  not 
far  from  the  heads  of  the  Mississippi  River. 
None  go  there  until  after  they  die.  A  smart 
person  can  make  the  journey  in  three  or  four 
days;  if,  however,  his  heart  be  not  right  at 
death,  the  journey  will  be  prolonged  and  at- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  19 

tended  with  difficulties  and  stormy  weather 
till  he  reaches  the  land  of  rest.  Infants,  dy 
ing,  are  carried  by  messengers  sent  for  them; 
the  old  or  infirm  are  borne  upon  horses;  they 
have  horses,  plenty,  and  fine  grass,  and  in 
firmities  will  all  be  healed  in  that  village. 
The  blind  will  receive  new  eyes;  they  have 
plenty  of  good  eyes  and  tars  there.  Good 
people  will  never  die  again,  but  the  bad  may 
die  three  or  four  times  and  then  turn  into 
some  bird." 

Father  Allouez,  one  of  the  first  mission 
aries  among  the  Algonquins,  entered  a  village 
never  before  visited  by  a  white  man.  He  was 
invited  to  a  council,  and  the  old  men,  gath 
ering  around  him,  said: 

"It  is  well,  Blackrobe,  that  thou  dost  visit 
us;  thou  ar£  a  Manito;  we  give  thee  to  smoke. 
The  Iroquois  are  devouring  us.  Have  mercy 
upon  us.  Hear  us,  O  Manito!  we  give  thee 
to  smoke.  Let  the  earth  yield  us  corn;  the 
rivers  give  us  fish;  sickness  not  slay  us;  nor 
hunger  so  torment  us.  Hear  us,  O  Manito! 
we  give  thee  to  smoke." 


20  LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW. 

Birds  and  beasts  were  selected  as  guar 
dians.  Everyone  considered  his  totem  a  pro 
tector,  and  refrained  from  killing  it.  Whole 
clans  were  believed  to  be  descended  from  a 
common  totem  and  information  was  conveyed 
by  means  of  omens. 

The  character  of  a  nation  is  engraven  up 
on  its  literature,  which,  like  a  mirror,  reflects 
the  thoughts,  emotions  and  progress  of  a  peo 
ple.  The  folklore  of  the  North  American  In 
dians  was  their  literature.  The  myth,  ground 
ed  upon  the  unchanging  laws  of  the  universe, 
was  conscious,  however  vaguely,  of  great 
principles  that  are  forever  true.  Physical  ex 
istence  formed  the  basis  of  each  important 
fable.  The  earth,  air,  water  and  other  ele 
ments  were  personified.  Every  image  had  its 
moral  significance. 

Mythology  has  been  said  to  be  simply  the 
idea  of  God,  expressed  in  symbol,  figure  and 
narrative.  That  of  primitive  America  was 
founded  upon  the  conviction  that  there  was, 
in  pre-historic  times,  another  world  inhabited 
by  a  people  strong  and  peaceable.  So  long  as 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  21 

harmony  reigned,  comfort  and  happiness  were 
theirs,  but  when  discord  entered  this  Eden, 
conflict  succeeded  conflict,  until,  to  punish 
his  disobedient  children,  the  Master  of  Life 
transformed  them,  one  by  one,  into  trees, 
plants,  rocks  and  all  the  living  creatures.  It 
was  said  that  each  person  became  the  out 
ward  embodiment  of  what  he  had  previously 
been  within  himself.  For  instance,  from  the 
head  of  one  sprang  an  owl,  from  another  a 
buzzard,  a  third  became  an  eagle,  and  in  this 
manner  was  the  present  world  with  its  three 
kingdoms,  vegetable,  animal  and  mineral, 
evolved. 

Another  tradition  says  that  in  the  days  of 
turmoil,  a  powerful  man,  or  demi-god,  ran  to 
the  place  where  the  earth  and  sky  meet,  and 
with  a  lighted  torch,  set  fire  to  the  tall  grass, 
igniting  the  earth  itself.  Those  worthy  of 
preservation  were  caught  up  to  a  place  of 
safety.  Sparks,  rising  from  the  flames,  and 
finding  lodgment  high  above,  became  the 
twinkling  "sky-eyes,"  which,  in  the  language 
of  the  white  man,  are  called  stars. 


22  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

After  the  conflagration  had  subsided,  one 
whose  duty  in  the  upper  sphere  had  been  to 
provide  water,  carried  it  in  a  basket;  and  as 
she  walked,  drop  after  drop  fell  through  up 
on  the  parched  region  below,  causing  it  to 
levive.  A. wakened  Nature  blossomed  into  new 
beauty,  and  all  who  had  escaped  the  terrible 
fire  fiend,  returned  to  take  possession  of  the 
country.  The  Water-Maiden  still  carries  the 
basket;  and  its  contents,  which  never  grow 
less,  still  fall  in  gentle  showers,  to  refresh 
the  land. 

Among  the  beautiful  creation  myths,  is 
that  of  the  Earth-Maiden,  who,  through  being 
looked  upon  by  the  sun,  became  a  mother, 
giving  birth  to  a  wonderful  being,  a  great 
benefactor.  By  reason  of  his  benign  influence, 
mankind  lives  and  prospers.  This  benefactor 
is  really  the  warm,  wavering  light,  to  be  seen 
between  the  virgin  earth,  his  mother,  and 
the  sun. 

There  are  numerous  narratives  in  which 
heat,  cold,  light  and  darkness  appear  as  lead 
ing  actors.  A  powerful  god  of  the  Algonquins 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  23 

was  the  maker  of  the  earth,  Michabou  (light), 
toward  whom  the  Spirit  of  Waters  was  ever 
unfriendly. 

In  Mexico,  tho  worship  of  the  sun  and  other 
heavenly  bodies  was  practiced,  sacrifices  of 
men  and  women  with  white  faces  and  hair 
being  particularly  acceptable. 

Almost  all  aboriginal  people  believed  that 
dogs  occupied  a  peculiar  position  with  regard 
to  the  moon,  possibly  because  of  the  canine 
habit  of  baying  at  that  planet. 

The  bird  and  the  serpent  were  especially 
honored.  The  former,  no  doubt,  because  of 
its  power  of  floating  through  the  air  and  the 
latter  for  its  subtlety.  The  Hurons  told  the 
early  Jesuits  of  a  serpent  with  a  horn  capable 
of  penetrating  rocks,  trees  and  hills — every 
thing  it  encountered.  The  person  fortunate 
enough  to  obtain  a  portion  for  his  medicine 
bag  was  sure  of  good  luck.  The  Hurons  in 
formed  the  missionaries  that  none  of  their 
own  people  had  ever  seen  the  monster;  but 
tho  Algonquins  had  occasionally  sold  them 
small  portions  of  its  horn  for  a  very  high  con- 


24  LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW. 

sideration.  The  Shawnees,  who  had  uuques 
lionably  practiced  on  the  credulity  of  their 
neighbors,  led  roving  lives  and  had  become 
familiar  with  the  myths  of  many  nations.  It 
is  not  unlikely  that  the  serpent  fable  origi 
nated  with  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees,  who 
thought  the  immense  snake  dwelt  in  the  wa 
ters.  Tradition  says  that  old  people  stood 
on  the  shores  and  sang  sacred  songs.  The 
creature  came  to  the  surface,  showing  its 
horns.  The  magicians  cut  one  off  and  contin 
ued  to  chant.  The  serpent  again  appeared, 
and  the  other  horn  was  secured  and  borne 
away  in  triumph. 

These  tribes  asserted  that  in  the  fast 
nesses  of  their  mountains  was  the  carefully 
guarded  palace  of  the  Prince  of  Rattlesnakes. 
On  the  royal  head  shone  a  marvelous  jewel. 
Warriors  and  priests  endeavored  in  vain  to 
get  possession  of  the  glittering  trophy.  Fi 
nally,  one  more  thoughtful  than  the  rest  en 
cased  himself  in  leather,  passed  through  the 
writhing,  hissing  court,  unharmed  by  poi 
soned  fangs;  tore  the  coveted  charm  from  the 


LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW.  25 

head  of  the  prince,  and  carried  it  home.  The 
gem  was  ever  preserved  with  great  care  and 
brought  forth  only  on  state  occasions. 

The  story  of  Hiawatha  (Hi-a-wat-ha),  which 
Schoolcraft  gives  as  an  Iroquois  legend,  is 
found  among  the  traditions  of  many  tribes,  the 
leading  character  being  called  by  different 
names.  In  the  East  he  was  known  as  Gloos- 
kap,  about  the  lakes  as  Manabozho,  in  other 
localities  as  Chiabo;  but,  as  in  certain  Aryan 
myths — of  which  this  may  be  one — the  prin 
cipal  features  of  the  story  are  the  same  in  all 
nations.  Their  hero  came  to  them  as  did 
Buddha  to  the  East  Indian,  and  Christ  to  those 
prepared  to  receive  the  gospel,  bearing  mes 
sages  of  peace,  good  will  to  men;  teaching- 
justice,  patience,  conformity  to  truth,  and  to 
the  laws  of  the  red  man;  instructing  them  in 
various  manual  arts,  and  destroying  hideous 
monsters  that  lurked  in  the  woods  and  hills,  or 
lay  concealed  amid  the  tall  prairie  grass.  He 
lived  as  a  warrior,  hunted,  fished  and  battled 
for  right,  changing  when  necessary,  to  any 
animal  or  plant.  While  seated  in  his  white 


20  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

stone  canoe  on  one  of  the  Great  Lakes,  he 
was  swallowed  by  the  King  of  Fishes.  Un 
daunted,  he  beat  its  heart  with  a  stone  club 
until  it  was  dead,  and  when  birds  of  prey  had 
eaten  the  flesh,  and  light  shone  through, 
climbed  out  with  the  magic  boat. 

The   struggle   with  fire-serpents,   in   order 
to  reach  the  wicked  Pearl  Feather,  whom  he 
fought  the  livelong  day,  has  been  recounted 
again    and    again.     How   a   woodpecker    flew 
overhead,  screaming  "Shoot  at  his  scalp-lock!" 
How,  obeying  this  admonition,  Hiawatha  saw 
the  enemy  fall   in   the  throes   of   death,   and 
dipping  his  finger  in  the  blood,  touched  the 
bird,  and  to  this  day  a  red  mark  is  found  on 
the   head   of  the   woodpecker.    He   slew   the 
Prince  of  Serpents,  traveled  from  village  to 
village   performing   good   works,    and    having 
wedded  a  beautiful  Dakota  woman,  presented 
a  perfect  example  of  faithfulness  and  devo 
tion.  A  league  of  thirteen  nations  was  formed 
through  the  influence  of  this  remarkable  man; 
nndxas  he  stood  among  the  assembled  chiefs, 
addressing  them  with  supernatural  eloquence, 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  27 

encouraging  them  in  a  voice  of  sweetness  and 
power  to  lives  of  rectitude,  the  summons  came. 
Promising  to  return  at  some  future  time,  Hia 
watha  stepped  into  his  white  stone  canoe  and 
was  lifted  heavenward,  the  air  trembling  with 
soft  music  as  he  floated  from  sight.  To  this 
final  pledge  are  attributable  many  ghost 
dances  and  outbreaks  against  the  whites, 
notably  that  at  Pine  Ridge  Agency,  when 
the  coming  of  the  Messiah  was  expected  with 
full  confidence. 

The  well-known  legend  of  the  Red  Swan 
was  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  crimson 
glow  that  spread  over  the  water  at  sunset. 
Three  brothers  set  out  in  different  directions, 
upon  a  hunting  expedition,  to  see  who  would 
procure  the  first  game.  They  decided  to  kill 
no  animal  except  the  kind  that  each  was  in 
the  habit  of  shooting.  Odjibwa,  the  young 
est,  caught  sight  of  a  bear,  which  was  exempt 
according  to  agreement.  Nevertheless,  in  his 
eagerness,  the  hunter  pursued  and  shot  it 
with  an  arrow,  taking  the  skin.  In  a  moment, 
the  air  became  tinged  with  red  and  a  wild 


28  LEGENDS  OP  THE  KAW. 

piercing  cry  was  audible,  like  and  yet  unlike 
a  human  voice.     Odjibwa  followed  the  sound 
and  came  to   the  shore  of  a  beautiful   lake, 
upon  which  rested  a  graceful  red  swan.     Its 
plumage  glittered  in  the  last  bright  rays  of 
the  sinking  sun.     Possessed  with  a  desire  to 
try  his  skill  again,  the  young  man  used  every 
available  arrow  in  the  vain  endeavor  to  hit 
the  wonderful  object;  then  remembering  that 
in  the  medicine  sack  of  his  deceased  father 
were  three  magic  arrows,  he  ran  home,  opened 
the    sacred    pouch    and    secured    them.     The 
third  one  struck  the  mark;  and  the  injured 
bird,  rising  slowly  from  the  lake,  floated  away 
toward  the  western  horizon.     From  that  time 
forth,  just  at  sunset,  the  blood  of  the  wounded 
swan  cast  a  blush,  like  the  rich  color  of  a 
maiden's  cheek,  over  the  surface  of  the  waters. 
The  song  of  "The  Peace  Pipe,"  by  Longfel 
low,  was  founded  upon  the  belief  of  the  North 
ern  Indians  that  when  the  earth  was  still  in 
her  childhood,  the  Master  of  Life  assembled 
the   nations   upon   the   crags   of   the   famous 
Red  Pipestone  Quarry,  and  breaking  a  frag- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  29 

ment  from  the  rock,  moulded  a  huge  calumet 
— the  emblem  of  peace.  He  smoked  over  the 
people  to  the  east,  the  west,  the  north  and 
the  south;  and  the  great  white  cloud  ascended 
until  it  touched  heaven.  Then,  having  told 
the  warriors  that  the  stone  was  red,  like  their 
flesh,  and  should  be  used  for  their  pipes  of 
peace,  the  spirit  became  enveloped  in  smoke 
and  was  seen  no  more.  The  rock  was  glazed 
with  heat  and  two  large  ovens  or  caverns 
opened  underneath.  In  a  blaze  of  fire,  two 
women  entered,  as  guardians  of  the  place, 
where,  to  this  day,  they  answer  the  prayers 
of  the  medicine  men  who  make  pilgrimages 
to  that  locality. 

The  phenomena  of  thunder  and  lightning 
were  variously  explained  by  different  tribes. 
Some  believed  every  storm  to  be  a  struggle 
between  the  God  of  Waters  and  the  Thunder- 
bird.  Others  affirmed  that  thunder  was  the 
voice  of  the  Great  Spirit  reminding  them  of 
the  approach  of  corn-planting  season;  that 
lightning  kindled  sacred  fires,  and,  striking, 


30  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

penetrated  the  earth,  forming  such  stones  as 
flint,  from  which  fire  can  be  drawn. 

Mrs.  Eastman  tells  of  the  belief  of  the 
Sioux  in  a  storm  giant,  to  whom  heat  was 
cold  and  cold  heat;  who  laughed  when  sad 
and  groaned  when  merry;  who  wore  horns  to 
represent  lightning  and  hurled  meteors  with 
his  hands;  he  used  one  of  the  four  winds  as 
a  drumstick  to  produce  thunder. 

In  seasons  of  drought,  the  rainmaker  of 
the  Lenape  sought  a  retired  spot,  and  draw 
ing  upon  the  ground  the  figure  of  a  cross, 
pointing  to  the  cardinal  points,  made  offerings 
of  tobacco  and  other  articles,  to  the  Spirit 
of  Rains. 

The  Blackfeet  massed  stones  upon  the  prai 
ries,  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  in  honor  of  the 
"Old  Man  who  sends  the  wind." 

The  Creeks  also  called  upon  the  four 
winds,  whose  duty  it  was  to  distribute 
showers. 

The  Wild  Parsnip  was  a  bad  man,  going 
around  doing  harmful  deeds,  until,  by  trans 
formation,  compelled  to  stay  in  one  place, 


LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW.  31 

he  could  no  longer  cause  damage  except  by 
killing  people  when  they  ate  him. 

The  Spirit  of  Fire  was  supposed  to  ride, 
bow  in  hand  and  face  blackened  with  rage, 
in  a  cloud  of  smoke.  When  he  drew  the  bow, 
quickly  the  flames  spread  over  the  prairie. 

The  Navajos  thought  that  fire  was  first 
brought  to  earth  through  the  efforts  of  the 
coyote,  the  bat,  and  the  squirrel.  The  coyote 
attached  some  splinters  to  his  tail,  ran  quick 
ly  through  the  fire  and  fled  with  his  prize. 
Being  pursued,  he  was  compelled  to  run  rap 
idly  and  became  exhausted,  whereupon,  the 
bat  relieved  him.  The  squirrel  assisted  him 
at  the  last,  to  carry  it  to  the  hearths  of  the 
Navajos. 

In  some  tribes  fire  was  considered  a  type 
of  life.  The  Shawnee  prophet  said  to  his 
followers : 

"Know  that  the  life  in  your  body  and  the 
fire  on  your  hearth  proceed  from  one  source." 

The  greatest  feast  of  the  Delawares  was 
to  their  "grandfather,  fire."  Eeferring  to  the 


32  LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW. 

immortality  of  their  gods,  the  Algouquius 
said:  "Their  fire  burns  forever." 

The  imagery  of  the  red  man  compares 
favorably  with  that  of  other  races.  The  In 
dian  lived  near  to  the  very  heart  of  Nature 
and  understood  her  fundamental  truths.  To 
him,  all  things  were  divided  into  the  animate 
and  inanimate.  Everything  endowed  with 
life  or  capable  of  action  was  thought  to  pos 
sess  intelligence  and  reason.  There  were  les 
sons  in  the  movements  of  the  winds  and 
waves;  in  flying  clouds  and  in  the  azure  skies; 
the  countless  stars  had  a  language  of  their 
own;  and  even  the  comet,  sweeping  across 
the  heavens,  told  a  story  with  a  strong  moral. 

The  earliest  record  of  the  Indians  of  the 
Middle  West,  that  of  Father  Marquette,  has 
been  preserved  at  St.  Mary's  College,  Mon 
treal,  Canada.  The  document  refers  to  the 
Kaws,  Osages  and  Pawnees,  as  the  dominant 
tribes.  The  Padoucas,  of  whom  little  is 
known,  then  dwelt  near  the  head  waters  of 
the  Kansas  Kiver.  They  were  strong  and  nu 
merous,  and  ranged  the  country  southwest, 


LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW.  33 

in  Colorado  and  New  Mexico.  The  nation 
and  language  were  unknown  in  other  parts 
of  the  continent;  and  no  relationship  could  be 
traced  to  the  four  principal  Indian  families. 
The  habits  of  the  people  were  different  from 
those  of  any  other  tribe.  They  lived  in  houses 
in  villages  with  streets  regularly  laid  out;  but 
raised  no  grain,  depending  for  subsistence 
chiefly  upon  the  products  of  the  chase.  Cer 
tain  students  of  ethnology  have  asserted  that 
the  Kiowas  are  their  somewhat  degenerate 
descendants. 

As  years  went  by,  all  was  changed.  The 
Padoucas  became  extinct  and  the  Pawnees 
reduced  in  numbers;  the  Osages  ceded  nearly 
all  of  their  territory  in  Missouri  to  the  United 
States  and  were  allowed  a  reservation  in 
Kansas.  A  few  years  later,  a  large  percent 
age  of  their  lands  and  that  of  the  Kaws  was 
purchased  by  the  Government,  to  be  used  as 
a  home  for  the  Eastern  Indians.  The  Dela- 
wares,  Wyandots,  Pottawatomies  and  Shaw- 
nees  were  the  emigrant  nations  of  the  Kansas 

River  valley. 
3- 


II. 

THE  PAWNEES. 

When  the  Territory  of  Louisiana  was  still 
the  property  of  France;  when  the  United 
States  was  endeavoring  to  subdue  the  savages 
within  its  own  domain;  a  wild  and  unsophis 
ticated  people,  to  whom  the  vices  of  civiliza 
tion  were  as  yet  unknown,  traversed  the  broad 
prairies  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska. 

The  Pawnees,  or  Pani,  were,  according  to 
tradition,  of  southern  origin.  The  white  man 
found  them  established  in  villages  along  the 
Platte  River,  whence  they  sallied  forth,  rov 
ing  over  the  entire  region  extending  from  the 
Missouri  River  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
carrying  terror  to  all  who  ventured  opposition. 
None  were  more  relentless  in  war  or  more 
ready  to  seek  revenge.  The  word  Pani,  mean 
ing  "horn,"  was  supposed  to  have  reference 
to  a  peculiar  custom  of  wearing  the  scalp- 
lock  dressed  to  stand  upright  like  a  horn. 
The  Pawnees  were  often  called  "wolves,"  on 

34 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  35 

account  of  a  singular  aptitude  in  imitating 
those  animals.  When  desirous  of  noting  the 
movements  of  the  enemy  without  being  de 
tected  in  so  doing,  they  frequently  put  on  the 
skins  of  wolves  and  dropped  upon  hands  and 
knees  as  soon  as  near  enough  to  be  observed. 
Becoming  common  objects  of  the  landscape, 
they  remained  unnoticed. 

The  nation  was  composed  of  three  bands, 
federated  under  one  chief.  In  order  of  im 
portance,  they  were  the  Chau'-i  (In-the-Middle), 
Kit-ke-hahk'-i  (On-the-Hill),  and  Pit-hau'-erat 
(Down-the-Stream).  These  names  were  given 
with  reference  to  the  relative  position  of  the 
villages.  The  Ski-di.  or  Loups,  whose  history 
is  somewhat  obscure,  united  with  the  tribe 
at  some  period  after  it  had  become  settled 
along  the  Platte  River.  Western  men  called 
the  different  bands  the  Grand,  Republican, 
Tapage  and  Wolf  Pawnees.  The  Ski-di  were 
more  intelligent  and  fierce  than  their  neigh 
bors.  After  they  united  with  the  tribe,  there 
were  four  important  villages.  The  Tuhk-pah- 
huks'-taht  (Pumpkin-vine  Village)  derived  its 


36  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

name  from  the  fact  that  once,  during  the  ab 
sence  of  the  people  upon  a  long  summer  hunt, 
the  pumpkin  vines  grew  until  they  climbed 
over  the  lodges,  almost  hiding  them  from 
view.  This  was  considered  a  miraculous 
occurrence. 

One  cold  winter,  when  food  was  scarce,  a 
band  went  into  camp  near  the  Loup  River. 
Just  below  the  village  large  numbers  of  buf 
faloes  came  to  cross  upon  the  ice.  The  In 
dians  succeeded  in  killing  so  many  of  the 
animals  that,  having  dried  all  the  meat  re 
quired,  they  preserved  the  skins  only,  leav 
ing  the  bodies  to  be  devoured  by  wolves. 
About  this  time  a  member  of  a  starving  band 
arrived  and  expressed  great  wonderment  as 
to  the  way  in  which  they  had  obtained  so 
much  meat.  Taking  him  down  to  the  river, 
his  friends  pointed  out  the  spot  on  the  ice 
where  wolves,  standing  in  a.  pool  of  water 
caused  by  a  slight  thaw,  were  feasting  upon 
the  buffaloes.  Going  back  to  his  own  band, 
the  Ski-di  told  of  plenty  in  the  other  camp, 
and  when  questioned  as  to  its  location,  re- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  37 

plied:  "Ski-di-rah'-ru"  (Where  the  wolves  stand 
in  the  water).  From  this  incident  the  second 
village  took  its  name.  The  third  and  fourth 
were  Tuh-wa-hok'-a-sha  (Village-on-a-Kidge) 
and  Tu-hi-'ts-pi-yet  (Village-on-a-Point). 

In  ancient  times  the  Pawnees  had  no 
horses  and  went  hunting  on  foot.  Arrow 
heads  were  made  of  flint  ojLdfifiE  Jiorns.  Until 
a  recent  date,  the  old  stone  arrow  heads  were 
believed  to  have  supernatural  power.  White 
traders  introduced  those  made  of  iron.  The. 
warriors  were  skillful  marksmen  and  the  bow 
and  arrow  remained  the  favorite  weapon  as 
long  as  there  were  buffaloes  to  kill.  The  en 
durance  of  the  Pawnees,  when  hunting,  was 
remarkable.  In  the  first  place,  scouts  were 
sent  out  to  look  up  a  herd.  Having  discov 
ered  one,  they  returned  with  information  re 
garding  its  location.  The  hunters,  disguised 
Illustration  No.  3 — A.  Pawnee  Buffalo  Hunt 
as  wolves,  advanced  in  a  body  until  within 
sight,  then  scattered,  forming  a  large  circle, 
which  gradually  became  less,  as  they  closed 
in  upon  the  animals.  When  near  enough  to 


38  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

begin  the  attack,  a  man  shouted  to  attract 
attention,  and  the  startled  buffaloes  ran, 
some  one  way  and  some  another.  Wherever 
they  turned,  an  Indian,  casting  off  his  wolf 
skin,  sprang  up  and  drove  them  back.  At 
length,  the  Pawnees,  yelling  and  waving 
blankets  and  shooting  in  the  midst  of  the 
herd,  wore  them  out.  The  great  beasts,  when 
too  tired  to  run,  were  easily  despatched. 

Before  the  advent  of  the  trader,  all  por 
tions  of  the  buffalo  were  utilized.  Hoes  were 
made  from  the  shoulder  blades,  needles  from 
bone,  spoons  and  ladles  from  the  horns,  ropes 
from  the  hair,  lariets  from  raw-hide,  clothing 
from  the  dressed  skins,  and  blankets  and  tents 
from  the  robes.  Pottery  was  formed  from 
clay  mixed  with  pounded  stone,  moulded  in 
hollows  in  stumps  of  trees,  and  baked.  Wood 
en  mortars  and  bowls  were  hollowed  out 
by  fire. 

The  Pawnee  nation  was  ruled  by  a  head 
chief  of  the  Chau'-i  band.  The  office  was  he 
reditary  but  became  difficult  to  retain  if  the 
chief  were  unpopular.  Each  band  was  gov- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  39 

erned  by  four  chiefs.  Important  affairs  were 
discussed  in  council,  by  chiefs,  head  men  and 
warriors.  Personal  character  determined  po 
sition,  and  the  opinions  of  the  majority  pre 
vailed.  There  was  a  servant  class,  composed 
of  young  men  and  boys,  who  lived  in  the  fam 
ilies  of  men  of  prominence  and  performed 
menial  offices. 

Breech  -  clouts,  leggings,  moccasins  and 
blankets  or  buffalo  robes  comprised  the  cloth 
ing  of  the  men.  Their  heads  were  shaved, 
with  the  exception  of  a  narrow  strip  extend 
ing  from  each  forehead  to  the  back  of  the 
head.  The  ridge  of  hair,  less  than  an  inch  in 
length,  was  stiffened  to  stand  upright.  From 
this  fell  the  scalp-lock.  The  women  were  ac 
customed  to  wear  sleeveless  shirts  and  skirts 
reaching  below  the  knees;  also  robes  or  blan 
kets  when  necessary.  There  was  no  head 
covering,  except  on  great  occasions,  when 
some  of  the  men  donned  chaplets  of  eagle 
feathers.  Eed  and  yellow  paint  were  used 
on  breasts  and  faces  for  ornament,  while 
black  paint  was  reserved  for  war.  Boys  were 


40  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

permitted  to  go  nude  until  ten  or  twelve 
years  of  age;  but  girls  dressed  in  little  shirts 
almost  as  soon  as  they  could  walk.  Infants 
were  placed  upon  boards. 

A  visitor  at  the  home  of  a  Pawnee  chief, 
in  the  village  on  the  Kansas  River,  about  the 
year  1839,  described  the  toilet  of  the  host's 
son  as  extremely  fanciful.  On  days  when 
there  was  no  hunt,  the  dandy  began  at  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  by  greasing  his  en 
tire  person  with  fat,  and  painting  his  face 
red.  Earrings  and  wampum  necklaces  were 
worn,  and  yellow  stripes  adorned  breast  and 
shoulders.  Armlets  were  placed  above  his 
elbows  and  rings  upon  his  fingers.  Hand 
somely  decorated  moccasins,  scarlet  leggings 
fastened  to  a  belt,  and  bead  garters  four 
inches  wide,  formed  important  parts  of  the 
costume.  One  of  the  wromen  led  his  horse 
before  the  tent.  Its  forehead  and  shoulders 
were  painted  red  and  a  feather  fastened  in 
its  tail.  Chains  of  steel  were  attached  to  the 
bridle  and  bells  to  the  reins.  A  scarlet  mantle 
was  thrown  over  the  young  man's  shoulders, 


A  PAWNEE  BUFFALO  HUNT. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  41 

and  thus  arrayed,  with  a  large  turkey  feather 
fan  in  one  hand,  and  a  whip  upon  his  wrist, 
he  ambled  through  the  encampment,  eliciting 
admiration  on  all  sides. 

At  a  social  gathering,  the  guest  sang  for 
the  entertainment  of  the  Indians,  and  re 
quested  them  to  give  him  an  example  of  thcnr 
songs.  The  white  man  portrayed  the  result 
in  the  following  language: 

"All  rose  at  once.  Each  singer  began  by 
strange  and  uncouth  sounds,  to  work  his  mind 
and  lungs  up  to  the  proper  pitch  of  excite 
ment;  and  when,  at  length,  the  shrill  and 
terrible  cry  rose  to  its  full  height,  its  effect 
was  astounding  and  sufficient  to  deafen  a  del 
icate  ear.'' 

The  song,  to  which  the  savages  kept  time 
with  heads  and  bodies,  was  allowed  to  fall 
into  monotonous  cadence,  then  burst  forth 
into  full  chorus,  with  mingled  howls  and  yells. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  cen 
tury,  Pawnee  courtships  were  peculiar.  The 
lover  first  went  to  the  father's  tent,  unin 
vited,  and  sat  in  a  corner  of  the  mat  for 


42  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

some  time,  then  rose  and  departed  without 
speaking.  A  few  days  later,  he  returned, 
wearing  his  buffalo  robe  hair  side  out,  and 
sat  silent.  This  was  a  regular  proposal.  If 
the  father  desired  to  reject  him  at  once,  no 
skin  was  placed  for  him  to  sit  upon  and  no 
meat  was  offered  him.  If  the  suit  met  with 
approval,  the  rites  of  hospitality  were  ex 
tended  and  feasts  were  given  to  obtain  the 
consent  to  the  marriage,  of  the  relatives  of 
both  families.  The  young  man  next  presented 
himself  to  his  bride  at  the  door  of  her  tent} 
turned  and  walked  slowly  toward  his  own. 
She  arose  and  followed  him.  The  ceremony 
of  marriage  was  then  complete.  Presents  of 
horses,  blankets  and  other  valuables  were 
sent  to  the  father  of  the  young  woman. 

Plural  marriage  was  practiced,  the  hus 
band  being  entitled  to  wed  the  younger  sis 
ters  of  his  first  wife. 

In  the  permanent  villages  on  the  Platte 
River,  circular  lodges  were  built  of  sod. 
Every  house  had  a  wall  seven  or  eight  feet 
in  height,  around  which,  upon  the  floor,  the 


LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW.  43 

inmates  slept,  each  bed  being  partitioned  or 
curtained  off.  Hanging  upon  the  wall  or  in 
the  space  back  of  the  bed,  were  the  belong 
ings  of  its  occupant.  The  center  of  the  house 
was  reserved  for  cooking,  smoke  escaping 
through  an  aperture  in  the  roof.  Skin  lodges 
were  used  when  traveling  or  upon  the  semi 
annual  hunt.  Each  family  had  many  dogs. 
After  spring  planting,  the  people  aban 
doned  their  villages  for  the  summer  hunt, 
returning  in  time  for  harvest.  Religious  cer 
emonies,  with  fervent  prayers  to  Ti-ra'-wa,  the 
invisible  yet  ever-present  Creator,  preceded 
departure.  The  Buffalo  Dance,  executed  by 
the  younger  warriors,  came  next.  This  con 
tinued  for  three  days,  when  the  line  of  march 
was  taken  up.  Tents,  cooking  utensils  and 
the  entire  property  of  the  tribe  having  been 
packed  on  ponies  and  removed  to  the  vicin 
ity  of  a  large  herd  of  buffaloes,  camp  was  es 
tablished  and  preparations  made  for  curing 
the  meat  when  it  should  be  brought  in.  Ap 
proaching  to  make  the  attack,  a  limited  num 
ber  of  chosen  men,  led  by  standard-bearers 


44  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

with  sacred  poles  wrapped  in  bright  colored 
cloth  and  ornamented  with  bead-work  and 
feathers,  advanced  first.  The  remainder  of  the 
hunters  followed.  After  the  slaughter,  the 
squaws,  with  their  sharp  knives,  amid  much 
merriment,  cut  and  bore  away  to  the  camp 
the  most  desirable  portions  of  meat. 

Ti-ra'-wa,  the  Pawnee  deity,  was  not  per 
sonified,  being  intangible  and  in  and  of  every 
thing.  The  nation  did  not  adore  any  material 
substance,  but,  like  all  aboriginal  people,  at 
tributed  to  animals  an  intelligence  sometimes 
exceeding  that  of  man.  As  the  messengers 
of  God,  the  Na-hu'-rac  received  miraculous 
power  through  him,  hence  were  often  im 
plored  to  intercede  with  Ti-ra'-wa.  In  cases 
of  great  emergency,  direct  intercession  be 
came  necessary.  A  party  prayed  for  success 
and  made  sacrifices  before  starting  on  the 
war-path.  Victory  was  acknowledged  by 
thanksgiving  offerings.  War  parties  were 
made  up  by  anyone  with  a  grievance,  if  he 
had  sufficient  influence  to  secure  followers. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  45 

Frequently  scalps  taken  from  the  heads  of 
enemies  were  burned  with  much  ceremony. 

One  of  the  best-known  legends,  related 
by  George  Bird  Grinnell,  illustrates  the  power 
of  animals  in  changing  the  fortunes  of  those 
who  listened  to  their  behests. 

An  old  woman  lived  on  the  outskirts  of  a 
village  located  on  the  bank  of  the  Platte 
River.  At  one  time  she  had  been  the  wife 
of  a  brave  hunter  and  warrior.  During  his 
life  there  was  always  a  comfortable  lodge,  as 
well  as  plenty  of  buffalo  meat  and  robes. 
No  one  of  the  nation  was  more  successful  in 
stealing  horses  from  the  enemy,  which  was 
considered  a  highly  honorable  feat.  He  was 
killed  in  a  great  battle  with  the  Sioux,  aiid 
the  poor  woman  had  never  ceased  to  mourn. 
Now,  in  old  age,  there  remained  but  one  rel 
ative,  a  grandson  of  sixteen  years.  Being 
reduced  to  poverty,  they  were  in  the  habit, 
\vhen  the  tribe  moved,  of  following  in  the 
rear,  in  order  to  pick  up  anything  that  might 
have  been  left  behind  as  worthless.  Once,  to 
the  delight  of  the  boy,  an  old  dun  horse  was 


46  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

abandoned  by  its  owner.  The  animal  was 
blind  in  one  eve  and  had  a  sore  back  and  a 
swollen  leg;  but  was  nevertheless  valuable 
to  the  poor  woman,  inasmuch  as  it  could 
carry  the  cooking  utensils  and  the  worn-out 
skin  used  for  a  lodge  when  traveling. 

The  village  was  moved  to  Court  House 
Rock.  Soon  after  arrival  the  young  men  sent 
out  to  look  for  buffaloes  returned  with  in 
formation  that  there  was  a  large  herd  in 
the  vicinity,  and  among  the  animals  was  a 
spotted  calf. 

The  head  chief  had  a  young  and  beautiful 
daughter.  He  announced  that  whosoever 
should  kill  the  spotted  calf  should  marry  the 
girl.  Since  the  buffaloes  were  only  four 
miles  away,  it  was  decided  that  the  charge 
should  be  made  from  the  village.  The  one 
who  had  the  fastest  steed  would  be  most 
likely  to  obtain  the  calf.  The  poor  boy  made 
preparations  to  ride  the  old  dun  horse.  He 
was  ridiculed  to  such  an  extent  that  he  with 
drew  to  the  bank  of  a  creek,  nearby.  The  an 
imal  turned  its  head  and  said: 


LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW.  47 

"Plaster  me  all  over  with  mud.  Cover  my 
head,  neck,  body  and  legs." 

The  boy  obeyed  and  the  horse  then  or 
dered  that  he  remain  where  they  were  and 
make  the  charge  from  the  creek.  The  men 
were  drawn  up  in  line  and  at  the  word  Loo  ah 
(go),  leaned  forward,  yelled  and  galloped  away. 
At  one  side,  some  distance  away,  the  dun 
horse  flew  over  the  ground;  he  seemed  young 
and  strong  of  limb  and  sure  of  foot.  As  they 
neared  the  buffaloes,  he  dashed  in  among  the 
herd  and  stopped  beside  the  spotted  calf.  His 
rider  killed  it,  and  taking  another  arrow,  shot 
a  fat  cow,  then  dismouting,  secured  the  spot 
ted  skin.  Cutting  out  certain  portions  of  the 
meat,  the  boy  packed  them  upon  the  horse. 
Putting  the  skin  on  top  of  the  load,  he  led 
the  animal  back  to  camp.  It  pranced  and 
curveted  and  showed  much  spirit.  The  war 
riors  were  filled  with  astonishment.  A  rich 
chief  rode  up  to  the  boy  and  tried  to  buy  the 
spotted  robe,  but  without  success. 

Some  of  the  hunters  reached  the  village 
in  advance  and  informed  the  old  woman  of 


48  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

her  grandson's  triumph.  She  could  hardly 
believe  the  story,  and  wondered  if  'they  were 
still  ridiculing  her  boy.  His  appearance  with 
the  coveted  robe  and  more  meat  than  they  had 
had  for  many  a  long  day,  ended  her  doubts; 
and  there  were  great  rejoicings  in  the  tent. 

At  night  the  horse  spoke  to  the  boy,  say 
ing: 

"To-morrow  the  Sioux  are  coming.  There 
will  be  a  battle.  When  they  are  drawn  up 
in  line,  jump  on  me  and  ride  as  hard  as 
you  can  up  to  the  head  chief  and  kill  him  and 
ride  baick.  Hide  up  to  them  four  times  and 
kill  four  of  the  bravest  Sioux;  but  do  not 
go  the  fifth  time  or  you  will  get  killed  or 
lose  me." 

The  next  morning,  just  at  day-break,  the 
Sioux  rode  over  the  top  of  the  hill  and  drew 
up  in  line  of  battle.  They  were  attired  in  all 
the  trappings  of  war,  and  looked  ferocious  in 
their  paint.  The  Pawnees  had  no  time  for 
decoration,  but  hastily  seized  their  weapons, 
cut  the  lariats  that  bound  their  ponies,  sprang 
upon  them  and  rushed  out  of  the  camp,  when 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  49 

at  the  proper  distance,  forming  in  battle  ar 
ray  opposite  the  enemy. 

It  was  the  custom  of  these  tribes,  when 
ready  for  a  fight,  to  confront  one  another  in 
two  long  lines.  After  a  few  moments  of  si 
lence,  some  man,  desiring  to  distinguish  him 
self,  rode  out  from  the  attacking  party  and 
exhorted  his  people,  telling  them  of  brave 
deeds  in  the  past  and  of  what  he  now  in 
tended  to  do;  then,  turning  quickly,  he  dashed 
toward  the  enemy,  hanging  over  the  side  of 
his  pony  and  riding  along  in  front  of  the  foe, 
discharging  one  arrow  after  another,  in  rapid 
succession.  If  the  brave  were  killed,  his  own 
people  made  no  sign,  until  a  man  rode  out 
from  the  other  side  to  challenge;  but  if  he 
were  fiercely  set  upon,  they  united  in  a  gen 
eral  attack. 

The  boy  mounted  the  dun  horse  and  joined 
the  warriors.  They  looked  askance  but  were 
too  excited  to  make  comment.  The  wonder 
ful  horse  galloped  out  from  the  line  and  made 
for  the  head  chief  of  the  Sioux.  The  boy 
quickly  despatched  the  leader  and  rode  back 


5o  LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW. 

to  the  Pawnees.  Four  times  he  went  forward, 
and  each  time  killed  one  of  the  bravest  of  the 
enemy.  Then,  forgetting  the  warning,  the 
boy  charged  again.  An  arrow  struck  his  horse 
and  the  rider  had  a  narrow  escape  from 
death.  The  Sioux  cut  and  chopped  the  horse 
in  pieces. 

After  a  spirited  conflict,  the  Pawnees  were 
victorious.  The  following  day  the  boy  went 
out  to  where  the  horse  ]ay.  Gathering  up  the 
pieces  of  flesh,  he  put  them  in  a  pile,  and 
wrapping  himself  in  his  blanket,  sat  on  the 
top  of  a  hill  not  far  away.  He  drew  the  robe 
over  his  head  and  mourned.  A  storm  arose 
suddenly.  The  wind  blew  and  rain  fell.  Ee- 
moving  the  blanket  from  his  face,  the  boy 
saw  the  pieces  coming  together  and  taking 
form.  Another  storm  succeeded.  When  it 
cleared  away,  he  beheld  a  slight  movement 
of  the  horse's  tail.  Then  the  animal  lifted 
its  head  from  the  ground.  After  a  fourth 
storm  had  spent  its  fury,  the  horse  arose  and 
its  owner  hastened  down  the  hill  and  led  it 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  51 

home.  It  cautioned  him  to  render  perfect 
obedience  in  the  future,  and  said: 

"Lead  me  away  from  the  camp,  behind 
that  hill.  Leave  me  there  to-night  and  come 
for  me  in  the  morning." 

The  boy  did  as  directed  and  found,  stand 
ing  beside  his  old  friend,  a  beautiful  white 
horse. 

Leaving  the  dun  horse  a  second  night,  the 
owner  discovered  a  fine  black  gelding  in  the 
morning.  After  ten  nights,  there  were  ten 
horses,  each  of  a  different  color.  The  boy  was 
now  rich  and  married  the  daughter  of  the 
chief.  Many  years  later  he  became  the  head 
of  the  nation.  The  old  grandmother  was  well 
cared  for,  and  the  dun  horse,  being  consid 
ered  sacred,  was  never  mounted  except  at  a 
doctor's  dance;  but  was  led  around  with  the 
chief  wherever  he  went. 

The  Pawnees  believed  that  the  Na-hu'-rac 
held  council  in  five  places.  At  Pa-huk'  (White 
Island)  on  the  south  side  of  the  Platte  River, 
opposite  Fremont,  Nebraska;  under  an  island 
in  the  Platte  "River,  near  Central  City  (Dark 


52  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

Island),  on  the  Loup  Fork,  opposite  the  mouth 
of  Cedar  River  (White  Bank);  and  on  the 
Solomon  River,  Kitz-a-witz'-uk,  (Water-on-a- 
Baiik).  This  was  a  mound  with  a  hole  in  the 
middle,  through  which  water  might  be  seen. 
Articles  were  thrown  in,  as  offerings  to  Ti-ra'- 
wa.  The  fifth  place,  a  hole  in  the  side  of  a 
hill,  was  in  Kansas.  It  was  indicated  by  a 
rock  called  Pa-hur'  (Hill-that-points-the-Way). 
An  old  story,  current  among  the  people, 
says  that  in  the  early  days,  in  one  of  the 
Pawnee  tribes,  was  a  boy,  smaller  than  others 
of  his  age.  He  refused  to  play  with  the  chil 
dren,  preferring  to  spend  much  time  alone. 
His  manner  was  strange  and  the  child  was 
frequently  in  tears.  The  father  and  mother 
observed  that  he  often  pasted  mud  upon  his 
head.  This  was  the  sign  of  a  doctor  and  des 
ignated  faith  in  the  earth.  As  the  boy  grew 
to  be  a  young  man  he  appeared  to  have  some 
thing  constantly  on  his  mind  and  would  fast 
for  days,  smoking  and  praying  to  Ti-ra'-wa 
during  "that  time.  He  doctored  those  who 
were  ill,  and,  although  rapidly  becoming 


LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW.  53 

great,  was  not  proud.  Nevertheless,  the  doc 
tors  of  the  tribe  were  jealous,  and  one  of 
them,  a  member  of  another  clan,  came  to  visit 
him.  They  ate,  talked  and  smoked  together. 
The  older  man  said: 

"Now  we  will  smoke  my  tobacco." 
They  did  so,  and  he  departed.  As  the  sum 
mer  weather  came  on,  the  young  healer  began 
to  feel  sick.  It  was  evident  that  the  doctor  had 
poisoned  him.  He  swelled  up  with  a  new  dis 
ease  and  prayed  almost  unceasingly  to  Ti-ra'- 
wa  for  relief.  The  people  went  on  a  hunt.  He 
ascended  a  hill  to  think  and  pray;  and  after 
making  burnt  offerings,  mounted  a  horse 
which  the  father  had  left  behind,  and  jour 
neyed  east,  instead  of  following  the  tribe. 

A  few  days  later,  the  horse  was  sacrificed 
to  Ti-ra'-wa  and  cut  down  the  back,  so  that 
animals  could  feed  upon  it.  The  unhappy 
young  man  called  upon  the  Na-hu'-rac  to  in 
tercede  for  him.  He  traveled  east  to  Pa-huk' 
and  fell  asleep.  A  strange  voice  asked  what 
he  was  doing  there.  No  one  was  in  sight.  The 
same  thing  occurred  next  night.  The  sick 


54  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

man  answered  the  voice  this  time,  and  begged 
for  pity,  but  received  no  reply.  The  fourth 
night  something  touched  him  and  said: 

"What  are  you  doing  here?" 

There  stood  a  big  elk,  with  black  eyes.  It 
informed  him  that  they  were  directly  over 
the  home  of  the  Na-hu'-rac.  One  night  not 
long  afterward  a  bird  came,  saying: 

"Come,  let  us  go  to  the  edge  of  the  cut 
bank." 

He  obeyed,  and  the  bird  said: 

"When  I  dive  down,  follow  me." 

Passing  through  the  water,  they  soon  stood 
at  the  entrance  of  a  lodge  and  could  see  a 
fire  within.  As  they  entered,  the  Na-hu'-rac 
made  their  different  noises.  A  bear  was  sta 
tioned  at  one  side  of  the  entrance  and  a  snake 
at  the  other.  The  head  doctor  was  a  white 
beaver.  As  they  sat  down,  the  bird  said: 

"I  have  brought  this  man  here  and  want 
you  to  take  pity  on  him." 

Taking  the  man's  pipe,  the  bird  held  it 
out  to  the  beaver.  The  white  beaver  hesi 
tated,  but  finally  took  the  pipe.  All  the  an- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  55 

imals  made  a  sound,  as  if  to  say,  "Loo-cih" 
(good).  The  beaver  passed  the  pipe  to  the 
other  Na-hu'-rac  and  each  one  made  a  speech, 
saying  that  he  had  not  power  to  heal.  None 
had  the  power.  The  elk  then  took  the  man 
to  another  lodge  but  he  was  not  cured.  From 
there  they  went  to  the  Loup  River,  to  the  is 
land  in  the  Platte  River  and  at  last  to  the 
lodge  under  Center  Island;  but  without  avail. 
The  principal  doctor  said  that  the  lodge  at 
Pa-huk'  was  the  head.  The  bird  took  the 
man  back. 

The  white  beaver  stood  up  and  announced 
that  he  had  sent  the  man  to  others  in  order 
to  see  if  they  were  equal  to  the  lodge  at  Pa- 
huk';  then  going  to  the  ground-dog,  he  ex 
tended  the  pipe.  The  ground-dog  reached  out 
its  paws,  took  the  pipe,  smoked  and  com 
manded  the  Pawnee  to  go  and  sit  opposite  the 
fire.  He  was  ordered  to  stand  up  while  the 
Na-hu'-rac  sang  and  the  ground-dog  danced. 
Next  they  told  him  to  lie  down  with  his  feet 
toward  the  door.  The  head  ground-dog  jumped 
over  him  and  was  observed  to  have  a  large 


56  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

piece  of  flesh  in  his  mouth.  Another  dog  fol 
lowed,  and  another,  each  eating  a  piece  of 
flesh,  until  all  had  passed  over.  This  was  kept 
up  until  they  had  eaten  the  swelling.  The 
man  seemed  to  be  dead.  The  head  doctor 
spoke  to  the  bears;  they  arose  and  sang,  then 
jumped  on  the  body,  shaking  and  pulling  it 
around.  After  a  while  the  blood  began  to 
flow  and  the  man  breathed.  He  was  entirely 
restored  to  health  and  remained  some  time 
with  the  Na-hu'-rac,  learning  their  medical 
secrets.  They  told  of  the  sky-house  of  Ti-ra'- 
wa  and  said: 

"He  made  us;  he  made  everything.  Blow  a 
smoke  to  each  of  the  four  doctors;  but  blow 
four  smokes  to  Ti-ra'-wa." 

The  man  went  home  and  got  beads,  pipes, 
tobacco  and  buffalo  meat  and  taking  them 
back,  threw  them  into  the  river  to  be  carried 
down  to  the  Na-hu'-rac  lodge  at  Pa-huk';  then 
he  went  to  visit  the  doctor  who  had  made  him 
ill.  He  said: 

"When  you  visited  me,  we  smoked  your 
tobacco.  To-day  we  will  smoke  mine." 


LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW.  57 

After  smoking,  the  young  medicine  man 
went  down  to  the  river  and  blew  upon  the  ice, 
and  in  a  moment,  the  river  was  full  of  blood. 
It  was  the  blood  of  the  wicked  doctor,  whose 
dead  body  was  found  in  the  lodge,  perfectly 
hollow.  The  blood  had  gone  into  the  river. 
The  favorite  of  the  animals  eventually  became 
one  of  the  most  famous  healers  ever  known  in 
the  nation. 

Priests  and  doctors  were  not  identical. 
Priests  were  the  mediums  of  communication 
with  Ti-ra'-wa  and  knew  what  was  inside  the 
sacred  bundles.  The  medicine  man  was  called 
upon  in  case  of  sickness  or  injury.  The  sacred 
bundles,  many  of  which  were  of  great  age, 
hung  opposite  the  door  of  every  house.  On 
certain  occasions,  the  contents  formed  a  part 
of  religious  ceremonies. 

The  Pawnees  believed  that  the  earth  was 
first  inhabited  by  a  race  of  giants,  so  large 
that  they  could  carry  buffaloes  upon  their 
backs.  These  people  did  not  acknowledge  Ti- 
ra'-wa  and  grew  more  and  more  wicked.  He 
was  angry  and  caused  the  water  to  rise  and 


58  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

the  ground  to  become  soft  and  the  giants 
sank  into  the  mud.  The  large  bones  found 
at  different  times  were  thought  to  be  their 
skeletons.  A  new  race  was  created,  from 
which  all  nations  sprang. 

The  Ski-di  band  offered  human  sacrifices 
to  the  morning  star.  A  young  captive,  taken 
in  war,  was  selected  and  fattened,  being 
treated  kindly  during  the  days  of  preparation. 
He  was  permitted  to  know  nothing  of  the 
fate  in  store,  until  the  four  days'  feast  and 
dance.  Old  men  at  the  ends  of  the  village 
called  upon  each  male  person  to  prepare  bow 
and  arrow  and  be  ready  for  the  sacrifice. 
When  the  fatal  day  arrived,  every  woman 
had  a  lance  or  stick,  and  every  man  held  a 
pipe  in  one  hand  and  bow  and  arrow  in  the 
other. 

At  the  west  side  of  the  village,  two  posts 
with  cross  poles  were  set  up,  to  which  the 
captive  was  bound,  hand  and  foot.  Behind 
him  came  a  man  carrying  a  buffalo  heart  and 
tongue,  followed  by  a  wrarrior  with  a  blaz 
ing  stick,  one  with  a  bow  and  sacred  arrow 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  59 

of  flint,  and  another  with  a  stuffed  owl.  Wood 
was  piled  around  upon  the  ground  beneath 
the  cross  poles.  The  man  with  a  blazing 
stick  lighted  the  fire.  When  it  had  burned 
to  the  center  of  the  pile,  below  the  captive, 
the  warrior  with  bow  and  arrow  stepped 
forward  and  shot  him  through,  under  the 
arms,  so  that  the  blood  would  drip  down  up 
on  the  fire.  The  buffalo  heart  and  tongue 
were  then  placed  upon  the  blaze.  The  man 
with  the  owl  seized  a  torch  and  burned  the 
body  four  times,  after  which  each  male  per 
son  present  shot  an  arrow  into  it,  and  each 
woman  struck  it  with  a  stick.  The  flesh  was 
consumed  by  fire,  while  the  people  prayed. 

John  Greenleaf  Whittier  left,  among  his 
papers,  a  poem  that  has  immortalized 

A  LEGEND  OF  KANSAS. 

Night  had  fallen  upon  the  broad  prairie 
—a  moonless  night.  The  chill  air  vibrated 
with  noise  of  barbarous  laughs  and  yells.  The 
measured  tramp  of  heavy  feet  and  the  Hoo- 
ah,  Hi-yah  of  excited  dancers  seemed  fiend- 


60  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

ish.  Dark,  weird  -  looking  figures  might  be 
seen,  dimly,  by  the  light  of  a  camp-fire;  and 
in  the  center  of  the  frenzied  throng  was  a 
maiden,  silent  and  defiant.  Around  her  feet 
was  piled  fuel  for  the  sacrifice,  for  had 
not  the  wise  men  of  the  Pawnees,  who 
hold  communion  with  the  other  world,  de 
creed  that  she  should  die  by  slow  tor 
ture,  to  atone  for  cruelties  practiced  by 
her  father,  a  fierce  chief  of  the  Kansas  In 
dians?  The  innocent  girl  might  not  hope  for 
pity  at  the  hands  of  her  nation's  bitterest 
foes;  but  she  could  show  them  how  fearlessly 
her  father's  daughter  could  face  a  horrid 
death;  could  shame  their  sons  and  warriors 
by  a  brave,  unmoved  demeanor;  and  even  now, 
as  a  small  blaze  started  up  from  the  outer 
edge  of  the  pile  of  sticks  and  began  to  creep 
slowly  toward  the  captive,  the  clear  tones 
could  be  heard  above  the  din,  chanting  her 
own  funeral  hymn  —  the  death  song  of  her 
people. 

Once  in  a  while  some  old,  decrepit  squaw, 
with  shrill  and  penetrating  voice,  would  heap 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  61 

fresh  taunts  upon  the  victim;  and  as  the  fire 
brightened,  upon  the  dusky  faces  might  be 
seen  the  gleam  of  savage  hatred  and  of  sat 
isfied  revenge.  Wilder  grew  the  howls;  and 
still  the  mournful  tones  resounded  above  the 
shouts  of  triumph.  The  flames  closed  in 
around  her,  and  they  leaped  up  higher,  toward 
the  icross  poles  to  which  she  was  bound, 
flashes  of  light  revealed  more  fully  the  pale 
set  face  of  the  doomed  one.  Now,  she  could 
feel  the  hot  breath  of  fire.  Where  was  the 
Kansas  chief?  Had  he  taken  refuge  in  the 
mountains  of  the  West  and  left  his  helpless 
daughter  at  the  mercy  of  the  enemy?  Was 
all  hope  lost?  No,  her  quick  ear  caught  the 
sound  of  horse's  hoofs,  muffled  by  the  soft 
prairie  grass.  The  captors,  with  senses  dulled 
by  liquor,  kept  up  their  shrieks  of  exultation. 
Though  her  heart  was  beating  loudly,  she 
dared  not  cease  the  song.  A  moment  and  a 
brave  young  rider,  on  his  father's  swiftest 
steed,  dashed  in  among  the  dancers,  hurled 
the  firebrands  from  around  her  and  cut  the 
thongs  that  bound  the  maiden.  A  moment 


62  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

more,  and  they  were  safe  without  the  start 
led  crowd,  flying  over  the  flower-strewn  prai 
rie,  toward  the  country  of  the  Kaws.  In  the 
words  of  the  great  poet: 

"Where  the  Kansas  wanders  free 
By  the  willowy  Siskadee 
There  their  pictured  tent  is  spread, 
With  the  soft  fur  carpeted; 
And  that  sweet  young  mother  there 
Smiling  through  her  lavish  hair, 
Oft  shall  sing  her  hunter's  glory, 
Oft  shall  tell  his  daring  story, 
Till  the  listening  Kansas  maid, 
Lying  listless  in  the  shade, 
Dreams,  perchance  (for  wild  or  tame 
Woman's  romance  is  the  same), 
Of  some  hero's  circling  arm 
Shielding  her  from  deadly  harm; 
And  the  Indian  boy  anear, 
Leaning  on  his  fishing  spear, 
Sees  that  same  coy  maiden  bound 
On  the  Pawnee's  hunting  ground — 
He,  upon  his  father's  steed, 
Hurrying  at  her  cry  of  need — 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  63 

Feels  her  arms  around  him  thrown, 
Feels  her  heart  beat  with  his  own, 
And  her  soft  breath,  quick  and  low, 
O'er  his  dark  cheek  come  and  go — 
Hears  behind  the  Pawnee  yell 
Fainter  on  the  breezes  swell- 
Sees  with  joy  the  morning's  beam 
Flashing  from  his  native  stream, 
As  he  drops  his  courser's  rein 
By  the  Kansas  tent  again." 
John  B.  Dunbar,  who,  in  relating  the  story, 
asserts  that  the  captive  was  a  Comanche  girl, 
has   preserved   the   Indian   song  in   honor    of 
Pit-a-le-shar'-u,  the  hero.     The   oft  recurring 
portion 

Lu!  ti-wak'-o-le 
We-tut-i-wit-a 
Pit-a-le-shar'-u, 
when  translated,  reads: 

Well,  he  exclaimed, 
You  see  I  am  come, 
I,  Pit-a-le-shar'-u. 

Although  among  the  fiercest  of  the  prairie 
Indians,  the  Pawnees  never  carried  on  an  or- 


64  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

ganized  war  against  the  Government.  They 
were,  however,  always  on  hostile  terms  with 
the  Sioux,  Kaws,  Osages,  lowas,  Sacs  and 
Foxes. 

In  a  beautiful  wooded  region,  near  the 
Missouri  River,  were  the  villages  of  the  lowas 
and  Sacs.  A  vast  extent  of  prairie  reached 
west  and  southward.  The  Indians  lived  in 
huts  of  bark  stretched  over  poles.  Imple 
ments  for  out  -  door  work  consisted  of  the 
"squaw-axe"  and  hoe,  purchased  from  trad 
ers.  Iron  camp  kettles,  wooden  bowls  and 
ladles  were  the  only  utensils  for  domestic 
use.  The  tribes  still  clung  to  barbarous  cus 
toms  when  the  Highland  mission  was  founded; 
and  their  teacher  narrated  that,  at  one  time, 
a  great  feast  was  given  in  his  honor.  The 
principal  article  of  food  was  a  savory  soup. 
He  mentally  congratulated  himself  on  having 
been  presented  with  a  dish  so  pleasing  to  the 
taste  that  he  might  show  due  appreciation 
of  the  honor  conferred  upon  him.  Suddenly 
one  of  the  hosts,  in  broken  English,  said: 


PIT-A-LE-SHAR'-U. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  65 

"Dig  deep,  dig  deep!"  The  guest  did  so, 
and  dipped  up  a  ladleful  of  white  worms. 

Missionaries  found  it  difficult  to  check 
the  wild  propensities  of  their  pupils;  and  the 
war  of  extermination  continued  until  stopped 
by  the  United  States  Government.  The  di 
ary  of  Father  Irvin,  who  established  the 
school,  makes  special  mention  of  a  war  in 
1S39,  and  a  skirmish  in  which  nine  Pawnees 
were  slain  near  Arago,  Nebraska.  This  was, 
doubtless,  considered  of  great  importance, 
inasmuch  as  the  prowess  of  the  Pawnees  made 
it  a  difficult  matter  for  less  formidable  war 
riors  to  win  a  victory,  if  the  sides  were  equally 
divided  as  to  numbers.  Highland  University 
is  now  located  upon  the  war  trail  over  which 
the  party  passed. 

Like  others  of  the  Sioux  family,  the  lowas 
indulged  in  dances  before  setting  forth  on 
the  war-path;  and  upon  the  return,  the  women 
executed  the  Scalp  Dance,  in  which  they  car 
ried,  attached  to  poles,  not  only  the  scalps 
of  enemies,  but  also  fingers,  toes  and  other 
mutilated  portions  of  bodies. 


66  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

During  the  period  of  general,  if  not  united, 
efforts  against  the  Pawnees,  there  was  a  con 
flict  in  which  a  small  band  was  besieged  on 
all  sides,  supposedly  by  the  Sioux.  The 
weaker  party  took  refuge  in  a  ravine,  where 
the  sunflowers  grew  tall,  and,  protected  by 
the  thick  stalks,  which  turned  the  balls  aside, 
made  a  brave  fight  for  life.  After  repeated 
attacks,  the  assailants  withdrew,  bearing  the 
body  of  their  leader,  who  had  been  killed  in 
the  struggle.  The  Pawnees  regained  their 
town  without  the  loss  of  a  man. 

As  immigration  increased,  settlers  took 
possession  of  parts  of  their  reservation.  It 
was  the  old,  pitiful  tale.  The  tribe,  reduced 
by  war  and  famine,  relinquished  its  land  and 
reluctantly  departed  for  the  Indian  Territory. 
Being  an  agricultural  as  well  as  a  courage 
ous  people,  the  last  of  the  Pawnees  have  de 
veloped  into  excellent  farmers.  Maize,  which 
was  called  A-ti'-ra  (mother),  proved,  after  all, 
to  be  their  best  friend. 


III. 
THE  SIOUX. 

Although  Minnesota  has  been  called  the 
"Land  of  the  Dakotas,"  the  Sioux,  as  well  as 
the  Pawnees,  roamed  over  the  entire  Missis 
sippi  Basin,  previous  to  its  settlement;  and 
were  found,  at  different  times,  in  Kansas,  Mis 
souri,  Nebraska  and  Iowa.  They  are  now 
located  principally  in  South  Dakota. 

The  word  "Sioux"  is  of  French  origin. 
The  tribes  to  whom  it  was  applied  called 
themselves  "Dakotas,"  meaning  "allied,"  or 
''joined  together."  The  Indians  in  general^ 
alluded  to  them  as  "cut-throats,"  drawing 
the  hand  across  the  throat  in  pantomime 
reference. 

There  were  three  great  divisions  of  the 
nation;  the  I-san-ya'-ti,  I-hank-ton'-wan,  or 
Yankton,  and  the  Ti-ton'-wan.  Each  division 
had  its  dialect. 

Among  these  Arabs  of  America,  the  chiefs 
were  not  possessed  of  undue  power.  They 
67 


68  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

might  suggest,  but  seldom  enforced;  and  usu 
ally  depended  for  influence  upon  popularity 
with  the  people.  The  Indian  is  by  far  the 
most  ardent  advocate  of  liberty. 

If  a  Dakota  died,  his  nearest  friend  killed 
an  enemy.  The  dead  were  laid  upon  scaf 
folds  and  allowed  to  remain  a  certain  length 
of  time,  after  which  burial  took  place.  The 
grief  and  devotion  of  a  savage  wife  are 
brought  out  in  the  old  legend  of  Eagle  Eye 
and  Scarlet  Dove. 

Eagle  Eye  was  the  son  of  a  famous  war 
prophet  who  lived  many  years  ago.  The 
young  brave  was  a  bitter  foe,  a  warm  friend 
and  a  wise  counsellor.  Scarlet  Dove,  whom 
he  chose  as  a  wife,  was  distinguished  for 
goodness  as  well  as  for  beauty;  and  in  the 
eyes  of  her  father,  was  worth  the  finest  of 
horses  and  blankets.  Eagle  Eye  did  not  hes 
itate  to  pay  the  required  price;  and,  accord 
ing  to  custom,  prepared  a  lodge  for  his  bride. 
Only  a  few  moons  after  the  marriage  they 
joined  a  hunting  party  passing  down  the 
Mississippi  River. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  69 

One  day  as  the  husband,  watching  for 
deer,  crouched  behind  some  bushes,  a  com 
rade  accidentally  shot  an  arrow  into  his 
heart.  The  lamentations  of  Scarlet  Dove 
could  be  heard  from  afar.  She  cut  and  lac 
erated  her  flesh  in  a  terrible  manner;  and 
wrapping  the  body  of  her  loved  one  in  skins, 
put  it  upon  a  temporary  scaffold  and  sat  be 
neath.  The  hunting  party  moved.  She  car 
ried  the  dead  upon  her  back,  and  at  every 
camp  erected  a  scaffold.  At  length  they 
reached  home,  the  sorrowing  bride  still  bear 
ing  her  precious  burden.  She  procured  forks 
and  poles  and  built  a  strong  scaffold.  Hang 
ing  from  this,  was  discovered  a  few  days 
later,  the  body  of  Scarlet  Dove. 

Mirrors,  when  first  introduced  among  the 
Dakotas,  were  regarded  as  sacred;  and  women 
were  denied  the  privilege  of  gazing  therein. 
As  a  consequence,  the  young  men  of  the  na 
tion  became  the  more  remarkable  for  vanity, 
decking  themselves  out  to  an  unusual  degree 
with  savage  finery.  An  eagle  feather,  with 
a  red  spot,  denoted  the  killing  of  an  enemy. 


?o  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

A  notch  cut  in  the  edges  of  a  feather  painted 
red  indicated  that  the  throat  of  an  enemy 
had  been  cut.  One  who  had  seen  a  fight, 
even  though  he  might  not  have  participated, 
was  allowed  to  mount  a  feather.  Horses' 
tails,  beads,  wampum  and  a  variety  of  paints 
were  also  used  by  way  of  decoration. 

The  women  were  hard-working  and  sub 
missive.  Plural  marriages  being  fertile 
sources  of  discontent,  suicides  were  not  in 
frequent. 

Anepetusa  was  an  unfortunate  wife,  whose 
sad  story  has  become  a  part  of  the  tradi 
tional  history  of  Minnesota.  When  young  and 
beautiful  she  became  the  bride  of  a  Dakota 
hunter.  For  a  time  all  was  peace  and  con 
tentment  in  the  lodge.  Anepetusa  was  a  hap 
py  wife,  and  her  joy  was  increased  by  the 
birth  of  a  child.  The  boy  grew  strong  and 
handsome,  as  the  years  passed  by;  but,  at 
length,  a  deep  shadow  fell  across  the  thresh 
old  of  the  forest  home.  A  second  wife  was 
purchased,  and  came  to  share  the  humble 
habitation.  All  the  world  seemed  dark  to 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  71 

the  now-neglected  woman.  The  child  was  her 
sole  remaining  comfort.  An  expression  of 
deep  sorrow  settled  upon  the  once  beautiful 
features,  yet  no  murmur  escaped  her  lips. 
Grieving  in  silence,  she  followed  her  lord  and 
master  upon  a  hunting  expedition.  He  ap 
peared  utterly  indifferent  to  this  devotion. 
They  approached  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony. 
Taking  the  child  by  the  hand,  Anepetusa 
walked  out  into  rapid  water  and  entered  a, 
canoe.  As  they  pushed  into  the  swift  current 
she  chanted  an  unearthly  dirge.  A  moment 
afterward  the  astonished  husband  saw  her 
go  over  the  falls.  His  heart  was  stricken 
with  terror  by  the  wild  ringing  of  a  death 
song  that  could  be  plainly  distinguished  above 
the  roaring  of  the  waterfall. 

From  that  time  forth,  so  the  Dakotas  said, 
the  spirit  of  an  Indian  wife,  with  a  child  cling 
ing  around  her  neck,  might  be  seen  darting 
into  the  spray:  and  her  death  song  was  heard 
in  the  moaning  of  the  winds  and  the  raging 
of  the  waters. 


72  LEGENDS  OP  THE  KAW. 

Each  Dakota  was  supposed  to  have  four 
souls.  At  the  extinction  of  physical  life,  one 
remained  in  or  near  the  body,  another  was 
lodged  in  a  bundle  containing  hair  and  clothes 
of  the  deceased,  kept  by  relatives  and  thrown 
into  the  enemy's  country,  the  third  passed  in 
to  the  spirit  land,  and  the  fourth  entered  the 
body  of  a  child,  plant  or  animal. 

The  following  petition,  translated  by  a 
United  States  interpreter,  was  a  typical  pray 
er  of  these  primitive  people: 

"Spirits,  or  ghosts,  have  mercy  on  me;  and 
show  me  where  I  can  find  a  bear.'7 

All  unusual  occurrences  were  regarded  as 
good  or  evil  omens.  In  crossing  a  lake  or 
other  body  of  water,  the  Dakotas  filled  their 
pipes  and  invoked  the  winds  to  be  calm.  Ac 
cording  to  Schoolcraft,  they  did  not  believe 
in  the  transmigration  of  souls.  Worship  was 
in  a  natural  state.  There  were  no  images  of 
wood.  A  stone  was  picked  up,  placed  a  few 
rods  from  the  lodge,  an  offering  of  tobacco 
or  feathers  was  made,  and  an  entreaty  for 
protection  from  some  threatened  evil. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  73 

O-an-tay'-hee,  the  supreme  god,  was  re 
garded  with  the  utmost  reverence.  His  name^ 
like  that  -of  Jehovah  of  the  Israelites,  was 
seldom  spoken.  He  created  the  earth.  As 
sembling  the  aquatic  tribes,  he  commanded 
them  to  bring  up  dirt  from  beneath  the  wa 
ter,  at  the  same  time  proclaiming  death  to 
the  disobedient.  This  would  indicate  that  the 
Indian,  as  well  as  the  modern  scientist,  real 
ized  the  fact  that  the  earth  was  in  a  liquid 
state  at  one  period.  The  beaver  and  other 
animals  forfeited  their  lives.  At  last  the 
muskrat  went  down  and,  after  a  long  delay, 
returned  with  some  dirt,  from  which  the 
earth  was  formed. 

Taking  one  of  his  own  offspring,  O-an-tay'- 
hee  ground  him  to  powder  and  sprinkled  it 
upon  the  earth;  many  worms  came  forth;  they 
were  collected  and  scattered  again  and  ma 
tured  into  infants;  these,  having  been  col 
lected  and  scattered,  became  full-grown  Da- 
kotas.  The  bones  of  the  mastodon  were  as 
sumed  to  be  those  of  O-an-tay'-hee;  and  in 


74  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

some  medicine  bags,  small  portions  were  pre 
served  among  the  sacred  articles. 

Hay-o-kah  was  a  powerful  ^eity,  who 
could  kill  anything  he  looked  upon,  with  his 
piercing  eyes.  There  were  four  persons  in 
this  godhead.  The  first  was  tall  and  slender, 
with  two  faces.  In  his  hands  were  a  bow 
streaked  with  red  lightning  and  a  rattle  of 
deer  claws.  The  second,  a  little  old  man 
with  a  cocked  hat  and  large  ears,  held  a 
yellow  bow.  The  third  had  a  flute  suspended 
from  his  neck;  and  the  fourth,  invisible  and 
mysterious,  was  the  gentle  breeze  which 
"swayed  the  grass  and  rippled  the  water." 

Taku-shkan-shkan,  unseen  but  ever  pres 
ent,  was  a  revengeful,  dissimulating,  wicked 
searcher  of  hearts.  His  favorite  resorts  were 
the  four  winds. 

Wah-keen-yan,  a  god  in  the  form  of  a 
huge  bird  whose  flapping  wings  made  thun 
der,  lived  in  a  tepee  on  a  mound  rising  from 
a  mountain-top  in  the  far  West.  His  tepee, 
guarded  by  sentinels  clothed  in  red  down, 
had  four  openings.  A  butterfly  was  sta- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  75 

tioned  at  the  east,  a  bear  at  the  west,  a  fawn 
at  the  south  and  a  reindeer  at  the  north. 
He  fashioned  the  first  spear  and  tomahawrk 
and  attempted  to  kill  the  offspring  of  O-an- 
tay'-hee,  his  bitter  enemy.  When  lightning 
struck,  it  was  supposed  that  the  latter  was 
near  the  surface  of  the  earth  and  Wah-keen- 
yan  had  fired  a  hot  thunderbolt  at  him. 

Captain  Eastman  writes  of  Unk-ta-he,  the 
God  of  Water,  and  Chah-o-ter'-dah,  the  For 
est  God,  who  lived  in  a  tree  on  a  high  emi 
nence.  His  house  was  situated  at  its  base. 
By  a  strange  power  of  attraction,  he  drew 
birds,  who  performed  the  duties  of  guards. 

Chah-o-ter''-dah  was  the  relentless  foe  of 
the  Thunder  God.  Indian  fancy  has  pictured 
many  a  spirited  battle  between  the  two.  It 
was  said  that  the  God  of  Thunder  often  came 
racing  along,  hurling  lightning  at  a  tree,  to 
kill  the  Forest  God,  who,  having  been  warned, 
had  taken  refuge  in  the  water.  Then  Chah- 
o-ter'-dah  ascended  a  tree  and  hurled  his 
lightning  at  his  adversary  to  bring  him  down 
to  submission.  The  Forest  God  possessed  a 


76  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

crooked  gun,  with  which  it  was  possible  to 
shoot  in  any  direction  around  the  earth. 

The  God  of  the  Grass,  Whitte-kah-gah, 
was  formed  from  a  weed,  pa-jee-ko-tah,  which 
had  the  power  of  causing  men  to  have  fits, 
as  well  as  to  give  success  in  hunting. 

Wa-hun-de-dan  (Aurora  Borealis,  or  Old 
Woman)  was  the  goddess  of  war. 

The  Dakotas  believed  in  numerous  fairies 
of  the  land  and  water,  in  the  shape  of  ani 
mals,  with  ability  to  perform  various  services 
for  mankind;  and  in  frightful  giants,  in 
whose  honor  were  established  many  feasts 
and  dances.  There  was  a  clan  called  the 
''Giant's  Party."  Men  only  participated  in 
the  ceremonies  of  this  organization.  On 
stated  occasions,  they  went  hopping  and  sing 
ing  around  the  fire,  over  which  kettles  of 
meat  were  boiling.  Every  few  moments,  one 
would  put  in  a  hand  and  pull  out  a  piece  of 
meat,  which  he  ate,  scalding  hot.  After  it 
was  all  eaten,  the  dancers  splashed  hot  water 
on  one  another's  backs,  crying  out  "Oh,  how 
cold  it  is!" 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  77 

The  impression  among  the  people  was 
that  the  god  would  not  permit  his  clan  to 
be  injured  by  these  rites. 

In  some  feasts  of  the  Dakotas,  everything 
was  sacred.  Not  a  morsel  of  meat  was  per 
mitted  to  fall  to  the  ground,  otherwise  the 
spirits  would  be  displeased  and  some  calam 
ity  might  befall.  Bones  were  gathered  up 
and  burned,  or  thrown  into  the  water,  out 
of  reach  of  the  dogs  and  so  they  could  not  be 
trampled  on  by  the  women.  Sometimes  a 
present  was  bestowed  upon  the  one  who  ate 
his  dishful  first.  This  caused  much  haste, 
as  soon  as  eating  began,  accompanied  by  a 
great  blowing,  stirring  and  grunting. 

The  Medicine  Dance,  instituted  by  O-an- 
tay'-hee,  was  conducted  as  the  proceedings 
of  a  secret  society.  War  prophets  and  med 
icine  men,  waw  keen,  were  revered  as  demi 
gods.  They  were  believed  to  have  led  spir 
itual  existences,  enclosed  in  seeds,  something 
like  those  of  the  thistle,  which  were  wafted  to 
the  abode  of  the  gods,  with  whom  the  waw 
keen  sustained  confidential  relations.  They  re- 


78  LEGENDS  OP  THE  KA.W. 

ceived  instruction  in  the  magic  of  the  spirit- 
land  and  went  out  to  study  all  nations;  then, 
selecting  a  location,  were  born  into  the  world. 

When,  at  the  proper  time,  a  person  sig 
nified  his  desire  to  join  the  priesthood,  he 
was  initiated  by  the  Medicine  Dance.  First, 
the  candidate  must  take  a  hot  bath,  four 
days  in  succession;  then  he  was  taught  the 
uses  of  medicine  and  its  mysteries  by  the  old 
men  of  the  society;  after  which,  he  was  pro 
vided  with  a  dish  and  spoon.  On  one  side  of 
the  dish  was  carved  the  head  of  some  animal, 
in  which  lived  the  spirit  of  Eeyah,  the  Glut 
ton  God.  The  owner  always  thereafter  car 
ried  the  dish  to  the  Medicine  Dance.  He  was 
taught  the  use  of  paints  and  must  always 
appear  in  the  dance,  decorated  in  the  same 
manner.  The  paint  was  supposed  to  have  su 
pernatural  virtue  and  caused  an  object  to  be 
come  invisible  or  invulnerable.  In  battle,  it 
was  regarded  as  a  life  preserver. 

Before  beginning  the  dance  of  initiation, 
ten  or  twenty  prominent  members  spent  the 
night  dancing  and  feasting.  In  the  morning, 


LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW.  79 

the  tent  was  opened.  The  candidate,  painted 
and  nude,  with  the  exception  of  breech-cloth 
and  moccasins,  was  seated  on  a  pile  of  blan 
kets,  an  elder  being  stationed  in  the  rear. 
The  master  of  ceremonies,  bag  in  hand,  ap 
proached,  ejaculating,  "Heen,  heen,  keen!"  and 
raising  the  bag  to  a  painted  spot  upon  the 
breast  of  the  novice.  Suddenly  the  latter 
was  pushed  forward  and  covered  with  blank 
ets.  The  dancers  collected  around  him.  The 
leader,  throwing  off  the  covering,  chewed  a 
piece  of  the  bone  of  O-an-tay-hee  and  sprink 
led  it  over  him.  Dancing  around  the  candi 
date,  the  members  patted  his  breast  until  he 
heaved  up  a  shell,  which  had  been  placed  in 
his  throat.  Life  was  now  fully  restored;  and 
the  shell  was  passed  from  hand  to  hand  for 
examination.  Ceremonies  closed  with  more 
dancing,  continued  until  four  sets  of  singers, 
with  gourds,  drums  and  rattles,  had  been 
exhausted. 

War  parties  were  made  up  by  anyone  in 
jured.  The  head  of  the  party  was  a  great 
medicine  man  or  prophet,  or  one  distinguished 


8o  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

in  some  way.  The  war  chief  made  a  dance 
every  three  or  four  nights,  before  the  party 
marched.  All  who  chose  might  join,  and  any 
one  was  at  liberty  to  return,  should  he  so 
desire,  after  the  party  started.  War  paint 
was  red  and  black  in  color,  and  the  dance 
was  executed  by  men. 

Women  performed  the  Scalp  Dance,  in 
which  scalps,  mounted  upon  poles,  were  car 
ried.  The  Sun  Dance  was  another  popular 
festivity,  and  has  been  said  to  be  the  cause 
of  the  weak  eyes,  noticeable  among  the 
devotees. 

When  the  Sioux  were  in  a  complete  state 
of  barbarism,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  they 
maintained  a  high  standard  of  morality.  Vio 
lation  of  the  code  was  invariably  followed 
by  complete  loss  of  rights  in  the  tribe.  At 
certain  celebrations,  maidens  proclaimed 
their  purity  by  joining  in  the  dance.  Com 
ing  in  contact  with  the  white  race,  the  In 
dians  first  adopted  their  vices,  then,  as  civ 
ilization  advanced  and  the  younger  members 
of  the  tribes  returned  from  schools  and  col- 


TA-TON-KA-I-YO-TON-KA. 

(Sitting  Bull.) 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  81 

leges,  they  began  to  emulate  the  virtues  of 
their  conquerors. 

Taking  the  Degree  of  Manhood  was  a  say 
age  custom  adhered  to  by  the  Dakotas  until 
a  recent  date.  When  youths  had  attained 
proper  age,  they  proved  a  right  to  the  degree 
by  torturing  themselves  in  different  ways. 
Sometimes  a  skewer  was  driven  through  the 
arm  and  heavy  articles  hung  upon  the  pro 
jecting  ends.  The  flesh  was  cut  and  bruised. 
If  an  aspirant  bore  the  pain  without  flinch 
ing,  he  was  deemed  worthy  of  all  privileges 
accorded  to  men.  These  practices  have  been 
discontinued  by  order  of  the  United  States 
Government. 

Travelers  in  the  Sioux  country  are  fre-^ 
quently  entertained  with  recitals  of 

INCIDENTS   IN   THE  LIFE   OF   TA-TON-KA-I- 
YO-TON-KA. 

Sitting  Bull,  the  famous  commander  at 
the  Ouster  massacre,  was,  during  his  pros 
perous  years,  the  chief  of  chiefs,  or  supreme 
head  of  the  nation.  He  first  inherited  the 

6- 


82  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

office,  and  was  able  to  retain  it  because  of 
mental  superiority  and  by  reason  of  the  fact 
that,  until  the  last  hope  was  gone,  he  assumed 
an  uncompromising  position  in  regard  to  the 
encroachment  of  the  whites.  Then,  too,  Ta-ton- 
ka-I-yo-ton-ka  was  a  medicine  man,  capable 
of  arousing  religious  fervor.  That  he  was 
cruel  toward  the  enemies  of  his  people  can 
not  be  denied;  but,  according  to  the  red 
man's  philosophy,  that  was  simple  bravery 
and  loyalty. 

The  authority  of  a  leader  was  seldom  ques 
tioned,  although  a  petty  chief  was  privileged 
to  disregard  orders,  should  he  so  desire. 

Sitting  Bull  left  an  autobiography  in  pic- 
tograph.  It  contained  a  description  of  con 
flicts  in  which  the  hero  had  counted  coup  on 
numerous  enemies,  both  white  and  Indian^ 
and  secured  their  scalps.  There  were  also 
records  of  horse-stealing.  The  signature  con 
sisted  of  the  picture  of  a  buffalo  in  a  sitting 
posture.  Little  is  known  of  the  early  his 
tory  of  the  chief;  his  own  accounts  vary;  he 
seemed  to  be  well  educated,  and  could  con- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  83 

verse  fluently  in  French  and  English,  as  well 
as  in  the  different  Indian  languages. 

The  Custer  massacre  took  place  in  1877. 
After  the  Sioux  war  had  ended  and  the  sav 
ages  had  surrendered,  placing  themselves  un 
der  the  protection  of  the  Government,  they 
were  retained  as  prisoners  at  Fort  Randal^ 
South  Dakota.  The  commandant  caused  a 
stockade  to  be  erected,  but  Sitting  Bull  re 
fused  to  enter  it,  selecting,  in  preference,  a 
strip  of  bottom  land  close  to  the  river,  for 
winter  quarters,  in  order  that  there  might 
be  plenty  of  fire-wood  near  at  hand.  In  sum 
mer,  a  pleasant  location  about  three  hundred 
yards  from  the  garrison,  was  chosen,  where 
a  guard,  composed  of  one  non-commissioned 
officer  and  nine  men,  was  stationed.  At  that 
time  a  majority  of  the  prisoners  had  not 
learned  cleanliness,  and  for  the  purpose  of 
improving  sanitary  conditions,  the  quarters 
were  inspected  daily  by  the  post  surgeon  and 
the  officer  of  the  day.  Every  one  was  com 
pelled  to  wash  each  morning.  A  soldier  as 
serts  that  some  of  the  Indians  appeared  heart- 


84  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

broken  and  became  sick  and  died.  Might  it 
not  be  more  just  to  explain  that  daily  baths 
in  the  river,  in  a  cold  climate,  were  the  causes 
of  mortality? 

A  death  was  followed  by  the  customary 
rites.  On  every  hill  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
camp  a  woman  might  be  seen  and  heard, 
mourning  and  howling,  in  the  hope  that  the 
departed  would  return  to  make  an  assign 
ment  of  his  effects,  which  were  few,  inasmuch 
as  the  most  valuable  articles  had  been  low 
ered  into  the  grave.  Among  them  were  usu 
ally  placed  a  knife,  tin  cup,  moccasins,  blank 
et  and  piece  of  buckskin.  The  ancient  rule 
of  laying  the  dead  upon  a  scaffold  was  not 
permitted  to  be  put  into  practice: 

Burials  took  place  in  the  day,  and  at  night 
grand  dances  were  held.  Indians  on  the  op 
posite  side  of  the  river  were  invited  to  par 
ticipate.  Tin  cans,  which  had  been  collected 
and  taken  to  the  tepees,  served  as  musical 
instruments.  The  noise  and  confusion  were 
sometimes  deafening,  dances  being  kept  up 
almost  continuously.  Both  men  and  women 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  85 

spent  much  time  in  making  arrow  tips  from 
old  iron  hoops. 

While  at  Fort  Randall,  Sitting  Bull  re 
ceived  an  order  from  the  quartermaster  for 
.three  sacks  of  hay.  Accompanied  by  a  slave 
wife  and  a  favorite,  he  presented  the  order. 
The  large  army  bed  sacks  were  calmly  handed 
to  the  man  in  charge,  who  refused  to  fill 
them,  telling  the  Indian  to  attend  to  that 
himself.  The  Sioux  then  turned  to  the  slave 
wife,  commanding  her  to  perform  the  menial 
office.  She  did  so  with  most  abject  humility, 
tying  the  bundle  with  a  piece  of  rawhide; 
then  the  poor  creature  crawled  beneath  the 
huge  mass,  pushing  her  head  under  it  first 
and  gradually  forcing  the  burden  upon  her 
back.  This  accomplished,  she  rose  slowly  up 
on  hands  and  knees  and  at  last  regained  her 
feet.  Being  asked,  indignantly,  why  he  did 
not  assist  the  woman,  the  great  chief  an 
swered  with  an  expressive  grunt. 

An  army  officer,  Major  McLaughlin,  se 
cured  several  autographs  of  the  celebrated 
leader,  but  found  it  impossible  to  induce  him 


86  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

to  sit  for  a  photograph,  until  he  had  obtained 
twenty-five  dollars  and  a  white  shirt.  The 
shirt  proved  too  small,  but  the  chief  fastened 
it  at  the  back  of  the  neck  with  a  buckskin 
string.  Despite  these  weaknesses,  he  was 
dignified  in  behavior  and  apparently  unmoved 
by  curiosity,  although  the  room  of  the  offi 
cer  contained  many  objects  new  and  strange 
to  him. 

During  a  severe  storm,  lightning  struck  a 
tree  near  the  Indian  camp,  forty  or  fifty  yards 
from  the  tent  of  Ta-ton-ka-I-yo-ton-ka.  He 
immediately  broke  camp  and  removed  to  sum 
mer  quarters,  saying  the  evil  spirit  was  after 
his  people.  Nothing  could  convince  him  that 
the  Great  Spirit  was  not  angry  with  him  for 
leaving  Canada,  when  he  crossed  to  the  Amer 
ican  side  and  surrendered,  after  the  Ouster 
massacre,  at  the  Little  Big  Horn.  He  said 
that  all  the  water  in  the  Missouri  Kiver  could 
not  wash  out  the  white  man's  stains  of  crime. 

Spotted  Tail  and  Red  Cloud  were  also  dan 
gerous  to  the  peace  of  the  northwestern 
country.  Spotted  Tail  had  two  attractive 


LEGENDS  OP  THE  KAW.  87 

daughters,  one  of  whom  died  on  the  way  to 
Fort  Laramie,  while  the  Indians  were  going 
in  to  surrender.  Thomas  Dorion,  the  man 
who  went  out  as  a  messenger  of  peace,  de 
sired  to  marry  the  girl  and  she  expressed  a 
willingness  to  become  his  wife.  It  was  large 
ly  due  to  her  influence  with  her  father,  that 
he  and  Red  Cloud  consented  to  accompany 
the  emissary  to  Fort  Laramie  to  hold  council 
and  make  a  treaty.  Her  sad  life  and  pre 
mature  death,  which  was,  no  doubt,  the  result 
of  exposure  and  the  vicissitudes  of  war, 
aroused  great  sympathy.  The  other  daugh 
ter,  Water  Carrier,  was  much  admired  by  the 
army  officers  and  received  many  valuable 
presents.  One  of  her  relatives  asserts  that 
the  officers  seemed  infatuated,  but  that  she  (  (_. 
never  manifested  any  reciprocity.  Water  Car 
rier  was  deeply  attached  to  her  father's  peo 
ple  and  became  the  wife  of  Lone  Elk.  They 
live  at  the  Rosebud  Agency,  South  Dakota. 
The  Sioux,  like  all  tribes,  are  rapidly  dis 
carding  their  ancient  beliefs.  Government 
schools  have  done  effective  work;  and  while 


88 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 


the  number  of  "squaw  men,"  or  those  who 
marry  into  the  nation,  is  less  than  in  the 
tribes  of  the  Indian  Territory,  there  is  yet  a 
liberal  infusion  of  white  blood.  The  dances, 
in  a  revised  form,  are,  of  recent  years,  in 
dulged  in  by  way  of  recreation  or  for  the 
amusement  of  spectators. 


IV. 
THE  KAWS  AND  OSAGES. 

The  Dakotas  were  strongly  represented  in 
the  Kaw  Valley  and  vicinity  by  the  Kansas 
or  Kaw  Indians  and  the  Osages.  In  some  re 
spects  there  was  a  similarity  of  manners  and 
customs  between  these  branches  and  the  orig 
inal  stock,  in  others  a  radical  difference  was 
noted. 

The  practice  of  shaving  all  of  the  head 
except  a  small  place  around  the  crown — the 
scalp  lock,  which  was  reserved  for  the  enemy, 
should  he  be  able  to  secure  it — was  adhered 
to  by  the  Kaws  and  the  Osages,  while  the 
old  Sioux  law  seems  to  have  sanctioned  scalp 
ing  the  entire  head.  However,  when  com 
pelled  to  hurry,  they  took  a  small  section 
from  any  part  of  the  head.  For  the  purpose 
of  decorating  themselves,  many  of  the  Kan 
sas  cut  the  upper  and  outer  edge  of  each 
ear,  drawing  it  down  so  as  to  form  a  large 
ring,  reaching  to  the  shoulder.  To  this  circle 
89 


90  LEGENDS  OP  THE  KAW. 

ornaments  were  attached.  The  tribe  retained 
savage  proclivities  long  after  rfSu  neighbors 
had  become  partially  or  altogether  reconciled 
to  the  habits  of  the  pale-face;  and  were  tall 
of  stature  and  physically  well  developed,  but 
decidedly  inferior  in  mind  and  morals,  being 
a  constant  source  of  annoyance  to  both  the 
white  citizens  and  more  civilized  Indians. 

One  day  a  golden-haired  girl  stood  by  the 
side  of  her  father,  at  the  door  of  their  home 
in  Kansas  City,  Kansas,  (then  Wyandotte) 
when  a  number  of  Kaws  filed  through  the 
gate  and  up  to  the  house.  Their  chief,  through 
an  interpreter,  formally  tendered  a  horse  and 
several  fine  blankets  in  exchange  for  the 
"squaw  with  the  hair  like  the  rising  sun." 
Receiving  an  indignant  refusal,  he  emitted  a 
disappointed  "Ugh!  ugh!"  and  turning  slowly, 
rode  down  the  street  with  his  warriors. 

A  lady  who  resided  at  Westport  when  it 
was  a  hamlet  of  not  more  than  eight  or  ten 
houses,  was  surprised,  on  entering  her  kitchen 
one  morning,  to  see,  standing  before  the  stove 
warming  himself,  a  huge  Kaw,  entirely  nude 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  91 

save  for  the  blanket  extended  across  his  out 
spread  arms.  Almost  in  terror,  the  woman 
gasped  out,  "Puck-a-chee!  puch-a-cliee !"  (go 
away).  Deliberately,  and  with  evident  amuse 
ment  at  her  fright,  the  savage  took  his 
departure. 

The  main  village  of  the  Kaws,  that  of 
American  Chief,  was  situated  two  miles  east 
of  Manhattan,  Kansas.  It  was  composed  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  dirt  lodges,  of  good 
size.  A  large  portion  of  the  tribe  was  lo- 
lated,  with  Fool  Chief,  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  Kansas  Kiver,  in  and  near  Topeka.  Later, 
by  a  treaty  with  the  United  States,  this  land, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  hundred  acres 
reserved  and  divided  among  those  in  whom 
white  blood  predominated,  was  ceded  to  the 
Government.  The  majority  of  the  people  re 
moved,  first,  to  Council  Grove,  and  then  to 
the  Indian  Territory. 

They  delighted,  for  many  years,  to  talk  of 


92  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

THE  VICTOR!  WHICH  MADE  WA-HON-GA-SHEE 
A  FAMOUS  CHIEF. 

There  had  been  frequent,  hard-fought  bat 
tles  with  the  Pawnees,  who,  being  superior 
in  numbers,  had  usually  obtained  the  victory. 
However,  the  Great  Spirit  punished  them 
when,  at  last,  a  small  band  was  discovered, 
just  at  nightfall,  by  a  strong  party  of  Kaws. 

Revenge,  always  sweet  to  the  barbarian, 
was  now  assured.  Surrounding  the  foe  un 
der  cover  of  darkness,  the  Kaws,  commanded 
by  Wa-hon-ga-shee  (No  Fool),  waited  patient 
ly  for  daylight. 

Twenty-four  hours  before  going  on  the 
war-path  a  council  had  been  held  in  the  cel 
ebrated  grove  from  which  the  present  city 
takes  its  name,  and  every  warrior  who  had 
joined  the  preliminary  dance,  had  fasted 
from  that  time  until  the  moment  of  depart 
ure.  Their  leader,  together  with  the  med 
icine  men,  had  long  abstained  from  food,  in 
anticipation  of  the  event.  Other  matters 
having  been  arranged,  the  line  of  men  rode 


WA-HON-GA-SHEE. 
(No  Fool.) 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  93 

out  of  the  village,  carrying  many  an  anx 
ious  good  -  speed  from  wives  and  mothers. 
Children,  half  -  clothed,  huddled  together  in 
awe-stricken  groups,  or  sought  maternal  pro 
tection.  Old  men  and  maidens  gazed  with 
hopeful  pride  on  sons  and  sweethearts. 

Over  the  plains  passed  the  braves,  almost 
from  view,  when,  by  some  mischance,  their 
chief  slipped  and  fell.  Quickly  recognizing  an 
unfavorable  omen,  he  gave  the  signal  for  re 
turn,  and  the  entire  community  joined  in  in 
cantations  to  dispel  future  disaster.  Again 
the  war  party  went  forth,  coming  upon  the 
Pawnees,  who,  all  unconscious  of  approach 
ing  danger,  lay  encamped  for  the  night. 
Guards  had  been  stationed  at  proper  inter 
vals,  and  the  ponies  corralled,  in  order  that 
they  might  not  wander  away. 

All  seemed  quiet  until  near  morning. 
Faintly  the  sounds  of  awakening  Nature 
broke  the  silence  of  the  prairie.  The  Kaws 
began  to  close  in  upon  the  enemy,  crawling 
stealthily  through  the  grass.  Gray  dawn  ap 
peared;  then  a  red  streak  became  visible  in 


94  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

the  east.  The  assailants  rose  with  a  terri 
ble  war-whoop  and  rushed  upon  their  sleep 
ing  victims.  Even  the  guards  were  surprised. 
Reports  of  rifles  and  fierce  shouts  from  in 
furiated  men  mingled  with  the  shrieks  of  the 
wounded  and  dying.  Knives  struck  pitilessly 
into  the  breasts  of  the  Pawnees,  who,  stupe 
fied  by  the  sudden  attack,  were  easily  over 
come.  Blood  flowed  freely.  Deftly  a  small 
circle  was  described  upon  the  head  of  each 
one,  the  scalp  torn  off,  and  the  reeking  trophy 
attached  to  the  belt  of  the  slayer.  Then, 
when  destruction  was  complete,  and  death 
had  swept  the  camp,  leaving  not  a  member 
of  the  little  band  alive,  the  victors  gathered 
up  the  spoils  and  journeyed  home  in  triumph. 
Ninety  dead  bodies,  mutilated  examples  of 
the  effects  of  savage  warfare,  were  scattered 
over  the  field  of  battle. 

Now,  preparations  for  the  dance  were  in 
progress.  Musicians  brought  forth  flutes  and 
tom-toms  —  rude  drums  made  from  powder 
kegs  with  raw-hides  stretched  over  the  ends 
— while  the  women  busied  themselves  in  mak- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  95 

ing  ready  and  cooking  meat  and  cereals  for 
the  feast. 

The  warriors,  in  a  circle,  commenced  the 
celebration  with  low  ejaculations  and  slow 
movements  not  unlike  a  march,  gradually  in 
creasing  speed,  and  changing  step  until  it  be 
came  a  wild  rush  of  many  feet,  accompanied 
by  howls  of  exultation.  Then  all  was  still 
for  a  moment,  and  two  beautiful  girls,  dressed 
in  almost  Oriental  costume,  and  carrying  red 
fringed  umbrellas,  broke  into  the  center  of 
the  ring  and  daniced  with  the  utmost  grace 
and  abandon.  Next  followed  the  process  of 
paying  debts.  It  was  the  custom  for  credit 
ors  to  allow  debtors  the  privilege  of  paying 
off  old  scores,  at  a  dance  of  triumph,  by 
standing  in  the  center  of  the  circle  and 
submitting  to  sound  beatings,  at  one  dollar 
a  blow. 

An  old  squaw  had  tried  in  vain  to  collect 
the  sum  of  twelve  dollars  from  a  young  man. 
Desiring  to  end  her  importunities  for  money, 
he  advanced  and  stood,  the  object  of  all  eyes, 
in  stoical  forbearance,  while  she  admini^ 

7- 


96  LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW. 

tered,  to  the  full  extent  of  her  power,  the 
requisite  amount  of  punishment. 

As  usual,  the  Raws  had  buried  their  most 
valuable  goods  previous  to  undertaking  the 
foregoing  expedition.  First,  a  large  cavity 
had  been  made  in  the  ground  and  the  articles 
placed  inside.  These  were  covered  with  sticks 
and  branches,  earth  being  piled  on  top  and 
stamped  down.  In  a  violent  effort  to  bestow 
the  last  blow  effectively,  the  old  woman 
caused  this  structure  to  give  way  and  sank 
into  the  chasm,  to  the  great  diversion  of  spec 
tators —  for  the  Indians,  among  themselves, 
on  such  a  day,  were  prone  to  cast  diginity 
to  the  winds. 

Frequently,  Osages  and  Kaws  were  em 
ployed  to  perform  special  police  duty.  It 
gave  them  a  sense  of  responsibility  that  had 
a  tendency  to  prevent  mischief.  Even  in  this 
capacity,  they  were  governed  by  superstition. 
At  night,  when  ready  to  give  place  to  another 
watchman,  each  brave,  before  going  home, 
went  to  the  fire,  gathered  a  handful  of  ashes 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  97 

and  rubbed  it  on  his  head  to  keep  away  the 
witches. 

Death  was  mourned,  not  only  by  relatives, 
but  by  professionals,  hired  for  a  period  of  two 
weeks.  Pasting  the  hair  on  top  of  the  head 
with  mud,  they  united  in  a  series  of  groans 
and  wails,  dismal  beyond  description.  These 
strange  songs  had  words,  probably  recounting 
the  virtues  and  wonderful  deeds  of  the  dead. 
Wrapped  in  his  blanket  and  provided  with 
food  and  drink,  trinkets  and  valuables,  with 
all  that  he  considered  most  desirable,  the 
warrior  was  lowered  to  his  last  resting-place, 
a  favorite  horse  having  been  killed  that  the 
spirit  might  ride  to  the  Happy  Hunting 
Grounds. 

The  Osages  were  once  the  most  powerful 
people  west  of  the  Mississippi  Kiver.  They 
owned  a  vast  territory  and  had  remained  in 
possession  over  three  hundred  years;  but  were 
forced  eventually  to  cede  the  greater  portion 
to  the  Government.  Nevertheless  they  are 
the  wealthiest  of  the  Indians.  The  tribe 
was  divided  originally  into  three  bands,  the 


98  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

Little  Osages,  the  Grand  and  the  Black  Dog 
Band.  They  were  tall  and  fine-looking,  the 
young,  able-bodied  men  being  hunters  and 
warriors,  while  the  old  men  were  doctors 
and  cooks.  Upon  entering  a  village,  a  strang 
er  was  expected  to  present  himself  first  at 
the  lodge  of  the  chief,  and  there  partake  of 
food.  A  general  feast  followed.  The  cook 
stood  outside  and  called,  in  a  loud  voice: 

"Come  and  eat.  White  Hair  (or  whomso 
ever  it  might  be)  gives  a  feast." 

When  traveling,  the  Osages  made  lodges 
in  the  shape  of  wagon-tops,  of  bent  trees  cov 
ered  with  skins  or  blankets. 

A  native  orator,  speaking  of  the  good 
qualities  of  his  people,  said: 

"Are  we  brave  and  valiant?  Behold  Da 
kota  scalps  drying  in  the  smoke  of  our  cabins. 
Are  we  strong?  Here  is  the  bow  of  an  Osage 

boy bend  it.  Are  our  women  beautiful? 

Look  at  them  and  be  convinced." 

Despite  the  fact  that  civilization  has  pen 
etrated  even  remote  portions  of  the  United 
States,  and  its  effects  are  felt  in  a  greater 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  99 

or  less  degree  by  every  savage  nation,  the 
Osages  in  the  Indian  Territory  have  returned 
to  many  of  the  old  barbarous  customs.  They 
had  a  unique  creation  story.  Old  people  used 
to  talk  of  a  man,  the  first  of  the  race,  who 
came  out  of  a  shell.  They  said: 

"The  father  of  our  nation  was  a  snail, 
who  passed  a  quiet,  happy  existence  on  the 
banks  of  our  own  river.  His  wants  were  few 
and  well  supplied.  He  seldom  hunted,  going 
out  only  when  driven  by  hunger  to  seek  food, 
and  taking  whatever  could  be  most  easily 
obtained.  Thus  lived  our  great  forefather, 
the  snail." 

According  to  the  tradition,  there  was  a 
storm  and  the  river  burst  over  its  banks  and 
swept  everything  before  it.  The  snail,  seated 
on  a  log,  was  carried  along  down  the  stream 
and  deposited  at  last  upon  a  bed  of  slime. 
He  was  contented  and  had  enjoyed  the  travel, 
since  it  had  required  no  exertion.  Now,  he 
found  himself  in  a  strange  country.  It  was 
very  warm  and  the  sun  came  out  and  baked 
the  earth  in  which  he  was  embedded.  It  was 


ioo  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

impossible  to  move.  Then,  feeling  a  change, 
hi*  began  to  grow  and  developed  into  a  man, 
tall,  strong  and  perfect.  At  first,  the  new  be 
ing  was  stupefied;  but  with  returning  mem 
ory,  he  realized  that  he  had  once  been  a  snail, 
and  immediately  set  out  for  his  former  home. 

Arrived  on  the  banks  of  the  Osage  River, 
he  became  faint  from  hunger.  Game  was 
plenty,  but  he  knew  not  how  to  catch  it. 
There  were  birds  and  fish,  but  no  means  of 
reaching  them.  He  lay  down  to  die.  A  soft 
voice  broke  the  silence.  The  man  looked  up 
and  saw,  mounted  on  a  noble,  snow-white 
animal,  a  being  like  nothing  seen  on  earth. 
It  was  tall  and  mighty,  having  eyes  like  stars. 
The  Osage  trembled.  The  gentle  voice  said: 

"Why  does  he  who  is  the  kernel  of  the 
snail  look  terrified?  Why  is  he  faint  and 
weary?" 

"I  tremble  because  I  fear  thy  power  and 
quail  before  the  lightning  of  thine  eye.  I  ani 
faint  because  I  lack  food." 

Then  said  the  Great  Spirit: 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  MP  f 

"Be  composed.  The  Master  of  Breath  pun 
ishes  not  till  sin  is  committed.  Thou  hast 
not  sinned;  be  calm.  But  art  thou  hungry?" 

I  have  eaten  nothing  since  I  ceased  to  be 
a  snail." 

The  Great  Spirit  drew  from  under  his  robe 
a  bow  and  arrows,  and  taught  the  man  to 
shoot.  He  killed  a  deer  and  was  told  to  cover 
himself  with  its  skin.  The  Great  Spirit  made 
fire  and  told  him  to  use  it  for  cooking  the 
meat. 

One  day,  when  hunting,  the  man  went  to 
a  river  to  drink,  and  saw,  in  the  water,  a 
beaver  hut,  on  which  the  chief  of  the  family 
was  sitting.  The  animal  asked  who  he  was 
and  what  he  was  looking  for;  and  was  in 
formed  that  the  Osage  had  no  home  and  came 
to  the  river  to  quench  his  thirst.  The  beaver 
said: 

"You  seem  to  be  a  reasonable  man.  You 
may  come  and  live  with  me.  My  family  is 
large  and  there  are  many  daughters.  Should 
any  of  them  be  pleasing  in  your  sight,  you 
may  marry." 


lo,^  LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW. 

The  Indian '  accepted  the  offer  and  married 
one  of  the  beaver's  daughters.  They  had 
many  children,  from  whom  the  Osage  people 
are  descended.  To  this  day,  the  members  of 
the  tribe  refrain  from  killing  the  beaver, 
which  is  regarded  as  sacred. 


\ 


V. 

THE  DELA WARES. 

The  Delaware  Indians,  or  Lenape,  as  they 
called  themselves,  are  of  Algonquin  lineage. 
Their  language,  which  is  soft  and  musical, 
bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  that  of  the 
Shawnees  and  Pottawatomies,  who  are  de 
scended  from  the  same  people.  The  word 
Lenape  ha.s  beeni  translated  "men"  or  ufa- 
thers  of  men."  This  bears  some  significance, 
since  the* early  traditions  of  the  Dela wares 
declare  them  to  be  the  parent  stock.  They 
were  the  natives  with  whom  William  Penn 
held  council,  on  the  ground  occupied  at  the 
present  time  by  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

The  nation  had  been  subjugated  by  the 
iroquois,  and  bearing  the  name  of  '''women" 
\v  as  at  peace  with  the  world.  Although  the 
domination  of  the  other  tribes  was  only  tem 
porary,  the  famous  treaty  with  the  Quakers 
was  never  broken,  during  the  subsequent 

years  of  warfare. 

103 


JQ4  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

The  Delawares  were  a  migratory  people. 
Most  of  their  legends  have  been  preserved 
by  missionaries.  The  Algonquin  myth  of  the 
virgin  who  fell  from  heaven  and  became  the 
mother  of  twins,  one  light  and  the  other  dark, 
was  found  among  the  Lenape,  and  may  be 
explained  as  referring  to  the  dawn,  which 
gives  birth  to  day  and  night. 

The  divinity  Kikeron,  the  synonym  for 
life,  light  and  action,  or  energy,  was  believed 
to  be  the  first  factor  of  the  universe.  He 
originated  all  things,  through  the  instrumen 
tality  of  the  tortoise,  which,  in  Algonquin 
pictography,  was  the  symbol  of  the  earth. 
There  was  an  unexpected  d^rcb  to  this  na 
tive  philosophy.  The  earth  is  all-producing, 
and  from  it  proceeds,  directly  or  indirectly,  all 
animate  existence.  The  tortoise  had  power 
to  produce  everything.  From  its  back  a  tree 
had  sprung,  upon  the  branches  of  which 
grew  men. 

In  the  pristine  age,  the  world  lived  at 
peace;  but  an  evil  spirit  came  and  caused  a 
great  flood.  The  earth  was  submerged.  A 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  105 

few  persons  had  taken  refuge  on  the  back  of 
a  turtle,  so  old  that  his  shell  had  collected 
moss.  A  loon  flew  over  their  heads  and  was 
entreated  to  dive  beneath  the  water  and 
bring  up  land.  It  found  only  a  bottomless 
sea.  Then  the  bird  flew  far  away,  came  back 
with  a  small  portion  of  earth  in  its  bill,  and 
guided  the  tortoise  to  a  place  where  there 
was  a  spot  of  dry  land. 

The  Delawares  thought  the  land  was  an 
island,  supported  by  a  great  turtle,  the  one 
that  had  been  their  preserver.  There  was  a 
tradition  that  many  hundreds  of  years  ago 
their  forefathers  dwelt  in  a  distant  country, 
far  to  the  west.  They  traveled  east,  and  at 
the  Mississippi  River  encountered  a  race  of 
giants.  The  wanderers  desired  to  settle  be 
tween  the  river  and  the  mountains;  but  the 
request  was  refused.  However,  they  obtained 
permission  to  pass  through  the  country. 
While  in  the  midst  of  the  strange  land  they 
were  fiercely  attacked  by  the  huge  people, 
who  were  very  powerful.  Many  battles  en 
sued.  The  enemy  erected  fortifications;  but 


io6  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

large  numbers  of  their  warriors  were  killed. 
The  dead  were  placed  in  heaps  and  covered 
with  earth.  The  giants  were  finally  defeated, 
and  fled,  passing  down  the  Mississippi  Kiver. 
The  victors  took  possession  of  the  country. 

The  nation  was  then  divided  into  three 
tribes.  One  settled  on  the  shore  of  the  At 
lantic,  one  remained  in  the  conquered  land, 
and  the  third  lived  west  of  the  Mississippi 
River.  The  Atlantic  coast  Delawares  were 
composed  of  three  clans,  the  Turtle  (Unami), 
the  Turkey  (Unalachtgo)  and  the  Wolf  (Minsi). 
Other  tribes,  the  Mohicans  and  Nanticokes 
among  them,  sprang  from  the  Lenape. 

The  legend  of  the  hairless  bear  is  one 
of  the  oldest  Delaware  stories.  It  was  nar 
rated  that  in  the  past,  at  some  remote  period, 
the  country  was  infested  with  a  ferocious 
bear  of  immense  size.  Its  skin  was  bare, 
with  the  exception  of  a  single  tuft  of  per 
fectly  white  hair  on  its  back.  The  animal 
possessed  a  keen  sense  of  smell,  but  its  sight 
was  defective.  The  heart  of  the  bear  was  so 
small  that  only  an  expert  hunter  could  hope 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  107 

to  strike  it.  The  people  held  council  and 
finally  decided  that  the  best  plan  would  be 
to  break  its  back.  Experienced  hunters 
formed  a  party  to  rid  the  earth  of  the  mon 
ster.  They  discovered  its  retreat,  made  a 
great  noise  to  attract  attention,  and  scaled 
a  high  rock.  The  bear  could  not  climb  the 
rock  but  tore  at  it  in  a  fury.  The  men  dis 
charged  arrows  and  threw  stones  at  the 
creature  until  it  was  dead. 

Indian  mothers  were  wont  to  frighten 
their  children  into  obedience,  by  saying: 
"The  naked  bear  will  eat  you/' 
The  pictograph  system,  which  was  per 
fectly  intelligible  to  all  tribes,  was  based 
upon  gesture  speech.  Rafinesque,  a  learned 
but  somewhat  erratic  Frenchman,  claimed  to 
have  seen  a  set  of  wooden  tablets,  on  which 
was  engraved  the  history  of  the  Lenape,  both 
in  picture  and  in  song.  The  eccentric  arch- 
eologist  prepared  a  translation  of  the  strange 
document,  which  is  called  the  Walam  Olum, 
or  Painted  Record.  Brinton  seems  inclined 
to  believe  it  a  genuine  native  production,  given 


io8  LEGENDS  OP  THE  KAW. 

orally  and  written  down  by  some  one  not  thor 
oughly  conversant  with  the  Delaware  language. 
There  is  a  possibility  that  the  priests  or  med 
icine  men,  realizing  that  their  own  downfall 
would  come  with  the  adoption  of  Christian 
ity,  were  jealous  of  the  missionaries.  Having 
learned  to  read  and  write,  from  the  white 
men,  and  hoping  to  gain  new  power,  they 
may  have  transmitted  the  story  to  wood,  in 
such  form  as  to  be  readily  understood,  both 
by  educated  and  uneducated  Indians.  The 
song  is  rythmical,  and  describes  the  formation 
of  the  universe  by  the  great  Manito. 

At  first  there  was  a  fog  and  a  watery 
waste;  then  the  land  and  sky  were  formed 
and  the  heavens  cleared.  Each  statement  is 
accompanied  by  a  rude  drawing  or  picture. 
The  first  part  reads: 

1.  At  first,   in  that   place,  at  all   times, 
above  the  earth, 

2.  On   the   earth,   an   extended   fog,    and 
there  the  great  Manito  was. 

3.  At  first,  forever,  lost  in  space,  every 
where,  the  great  Manito  was. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  109 

4.  He  made  the  extended  land  and   the 
sky. 

5.  He  made  the  sun,  the  moon,  the  stars. 

6.  He  made  them  all  to  move  evenly. 

7.  The  wind  blew  violently  and  it  cleared, 
and  the  water  flowed  off  far  and  strong. 

Men  and  animals  were  created,  and  lived 
peaceably  until  the  coming  of  an  evil  spirit, 
in  the  form  of  a  serpent,  which  introduced 
war,  sickness  and  premature  death.  Strife 
and  wanderings  commenced.  The  evil  Man- 
ito  brought  a  flood.  A  few  people,  escaping 
to  the  back  of  a  turtle,  were  preserved  by 
Nanabush,  or  Manabozho.  Their  protector 
caused  the  water  to  recede  and  the  serpent 
to  depart. 

After  the  deluge  the  race  found  itself  in 
a  strange  northern  climate.  The  people  jour 
neyed  south,  arriving  at  "Snakeland."  They 
conquered  the  region;  and  a  long  list  of 
chiefs,  migrations  and  wars  are  recorded. 
Abundance  followed.  Then  there  was  a  di 
vision,  some  of  the  nation  going  south  and 
some  east  to  the  salt  sea.  The  three  sub- 


no  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

tribes  of  the  Lenape  eventually  became  estab 
lished  along  the  Delaware  Kiver.  The  song 
closes  with  the  advent  of  the  white  man. 

In  1683  there  were  six  thousand  Dela 
wares.  Within  a  century  their  numbers  great 
ly  diminished.  In  1724  the  white  settlements 
had  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
former  owners  of  the  land  began  to  seek 
homes  in  Western  Pennsylvania. 

It  was  at  New  Britain,  Pennsylvania,  that 
Tamenend — the  Delaware  chief  for  whom  the 
Tammany  Society,  of  New  York,  was  named 
—committed  suicide.  He  had  become  old  and 
feeble  and  had  been  deserted  by  the  tribe. 
Having  failed  in  an  attempt  to  stab  himself, 
the  unhappy  old  man  threwr  burning  leaves 
over  his  body,  and  in  that  manner,  died. 

A  princess  of  the  Lenape  caused  a  cliff 
on  Mount  Tammany  to  be  called  Lover's  Leap. 
Her  affection  for  a  European  was  unrequited 
and,  in  despair,  the  girl  made  the  leap  of 
death. 

Not  far  from  Mauch  Chunk,  Pennsylvania, 
was  a  clear  and  sparkling  lake.  On  its  bank 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  m 

stood  a  village  of  the  Delawares.  Among  the 
wigwams  was  one  larger  than  the  rest  and 
more  commodious.  There  dwelt  the  success 
ful  young  chief,  Onoko,  a  man  of  wonderful 
size,  strength  and  daring.  Unaided,  he  had 
destroyed  the  bear  on  Manch  Chunk  (Bear 
Mountain).  Happy  was  Wenonah  when  he 
sought  her  in  marriage.  Her  heart  swelled 
with  pride  as  she^  entered  the  richly  deco 
rated  lodge. 

The  victories  of  Onoko  in  love,  in  war  and 
in  the  chase  aroused  the  anger  and  jealousy 
of  Mitche  Manito.  One  day,  as  the  young 
people  were  floating  idly  upon  the  lake  in 
their  canoe,  the  terrible  Manito  arose  among 
the  mountains,  with  a  dark  look  of  hatred 
upon  his  face  and  the  thunder  rolling  and 
crashing  about  his  head,  and  while  lightning 
darted  from  his  eyes,  smote  the  hills  with  a 
mighty  hand  covered  by  the  magic  mitten. 
The  earth  shook  and  a  great  chasm  opened, 
through  which  poured  a  volume  of  foaming 
water. 


ii2  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

At  first  alarm,  the  lovers,  glancing  up 
ward,  beheld  the  wrathful  features,  and  see 
ing  no  hope,  awaited  death,  clasped  in  a  close 
embrace.  The  light  canoe  was  swept  rap 
idly  away  by  the  deluge;  and  the  Manito,  in 
gloomy  satisfaction,  retired  to  the  hills.  Ever 
since  that  time  the  Lehigh  has  flowed  through 
the  chasm  that  he  made.  The  name  of  Onoko 
was  bestowed  upon  a  cascade  and  glen  in  the 
vicinity  of  Mauch  Chunk. 

The  Lenape  gradually  drifted  to  the 
streams  in  Central  and  Eastern  Ohio.  The 
epoch  of  peace  had  passed  and  they  were  no 
longer  "women";  but  took  a  prominent  part 
in  the  War  of  the  Races.  Removing  to  the 
valley  of  the  White  Water  River,  in  Indiana, 
they  founded  six  towns.  The  treaty  of  Vin- 
cennes  guaranteed  the  title  to  the  land  for 
ever,  nevertheless  it  was  "ceded"  to  the 
United  States  only  ten  years  afterward.  The 
fugitives  then  sought  a  home  west  of  the 
Mississippi;  and  eventually  received  a  tract 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas  River.  They 
never  fought  against  the  Government  after 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  113 

that  time.  Other  nations  arrived.  The  Len- 
ape  lived  at  peace  with  all  except  the  wild 
prairie  tribes.  The  old  warlike  spirit,  strong 
in  every  Indian,  whether  civilized  or  semi- 
civilized,  was  appeased  by  fierce  battles  far 
beyond  their  reservation.  Even  after  the  ter 
ritory  had  become  the  property  of  the  white 
man,  the  Delawares  took  pride  in  detailing 
such  victories  as 

THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  PLAINS. 

Nestled  among  the  hills,  where  the  Kan 
sas  Kiver  empties  into  the  Missouri,  lay  a 
village  of  the  once  prosperous  Lenape,  who 
gloried  in  the  knowledge  that,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  a  brief  period,  their  people  had, 
from  time  immemorial,  been  successful  in 
war.  Belonging  to  the  East,  they  had  drifted 
toward  the  setting  sun,  until  the  early  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century  found  them,  still 
adhering  to  antique  customs,  in  Eastern  Kan 
sas.  Though  but  the  shadow  of  its  former 
greatness,  the  nation  still  retained  sufficient 
numerical  strength  to  keep  up  hostilities 


ii4  LEGEJTDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

with  its  ancient  enemies,  the  Sioux.  At  times, 
after  seasons  of  rest  and  recuperation,  well- 
equipped  parties  had  sallied  forth,  going  as 
far  as  Nebraska,  Colorado  or  Dakota,  in  quest 
of  adventure.  A  furious  renewal  of  the  old 
contest  succeeded  emigration  to  the  Middle 
West,  and  all  was  made  ready  for  an  expedi 
tion.  Religious  rites  were  performed,  and 
the  medicine  men  promised  an  easy  victory. 
Among  the  Delawares  was  a  chief,  who 
bade  fair  to  equal  in  fame,  the  most  dis 
tinguished  of  his  predecessors.  Not  many 
moons  before,  Ni-co-man  had  awakened  from 
a  dream  of  conquest  and  beheld,  in  the 
pale  light,  a  shadowy  figure  wrapped  in 
a  blanket  of  snowy  white.  Its  bony  finger 
motioned  the  chief  to  arise  and  follow. 
Mechanically,  like  one  asleep,  he  obeyed  the 
phantom  warrior,  the  strange  chill  that  crept 
over  him  increasing  with  each  step.  On  they 
went,  beyond  the  confines  of  the  village,  to 
ward  one  of  the  highest  points  along  the 
river  that  shone  like  silver  with  reflected 
brightness.  Pausing  upon  a  spot  from  where 


NI-CO-MAN. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  115 

the  undulating  prairie  could  be  seen,  reach 
ing  for  miles  to  westward,  the  spirit  chief 
stretched  out  a  ghostly  arm  and  addressed 
the  awe-struck  leader. 

"Go  thou,  M-co-man,  noblest  of  thy  peo 
ple,  and  lead  them  on  to  glory.  Take  all  thy 
bravest  warriors.  Journey  west;  there  shalt 
thou  find,  upon  the  distant  plains,  our  ene 
mies,  the  Sioux.  Rest  not  until  thou  hast 
avenged  my  death,  for  by  their  hands  was 
I,  thy  father's  father,  slain." 

Slowly  he  vanished,  and  M-co-man,  pon 
dering  over  these  words,  returned  to  his 
abode.  Thenceforward  he  agitated  the  ques 
tion  of  an  advance,  with  full  assurance  of 
meeting  and  overcoming  the  murderous  Sioux. 

Around  the  council-fire  were  plans  per 
fected.  The  pipe  of  peaice  was  passed  from 
hand  to  hand.  Old  men  led  the  discussion 
while  their  juniors  listened  in  silent  respect. 
When  all  the  wiser  heads  had  given  advice, 
the  youthful  braves,  in  turn,  expressed  opin 
ions.  The  latter  being  unanimously  in  favor 
of  adopting  extreme  measures,  the  council 


n6  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

of  Ni-oo-man  prevailed;  and  having  complet 
ed  arrangements,  the  flower  of  the  nation, 
mounted  upon  mettlesome  ponies,  went  forth, 
as  did  the  challengers  of  old,  to  seek  renown. 

Over  the  rolling  prairies,  the  tall  grass 
waving  in  the  sunlight,  r,ode  the  dusky 
knights,  heavy  war  -  paint  giving  greater 
fierceness  to  faces  already  glowing  with 
excitement. 

The  second  day,  a  long  distance  from  the 
starting  place,  they  stopped  at  night  beside 
a  flowing  stream.  The  tired  ponies,  relieved 
of  their  burdens,  were  turned  out  to  graze, 
a  guard  being  stationed  nearby.  After  a  meal 
of  savory  buffalo  meat,  and  a  quiet  smoke 
around  the  camp-fire,  the  Delawares,  draw 
ing  their  blankets  over  their  heads,  threw 
themselves  upon  the  ground  and  were  soon 
wrapped  in  profound  slumber. 

At  early  dawn,  ere  they  had  proceeded 
many  leagues,  a  fresh  breeze  started  from 
the  Southwest,  and  close  to  the  horizon  a 
faint  rose  color  tinged  the  sky.  This  sud- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  117 

denly  changed  to  a  lurid  hue,  as  a  sheet  of 
flame,  accompanied  by  volumes  of  smoke, 
swept  rapidly  toward  them. 

"Fly!  Tun-dahe  Wel-seet-num-et  (The  God  of 
Fire)!"  shouted  the  Indians,  as,  turning  on 
the  trail,  they  lashed  the  horses  to  the  high 
est  possible  speed,  while  the  fire  made  steady 
headway. 

On  rushed  the  fugitives,  bending  every 
energy  to  reach  the  water;  but  the  breath 
of  the  Fire  God  was  at  their  shoulders. 
Then  the  hardy  little  ponies  made  a  final 
heroic  dash  and  landed  in  the  creek — safe, 
all  but  one.  As  the  terrible  cloud  passed 
swiftly  over  the  half  suffocated  band,  they 
saw  the  angry  spirit  in  the  great,  dark,  curl 
ing  chariot,  bend  low  and  smite  their  com 
rade;  and  when  the  seething  whirlwind  had 
gone  by,  he  lay,  face  down,  a  lifeless  heap, 
upon  the  blackened  cinders.  A  hasty  burial, 
with  few  of  the  usual  ceremonies,  and  the 
party  was  traversing  the  now  desolate  region, 
in  the  direction  of  the  far-away  mountains. 


n8  LEGEXDS  or  THE  KAW. 

They  entered  what  the  white  man  calls 
the  Great  American  Desert.  A  level  coun 
try,  the  short-grass  district,  extended  as  far 
as  the  eye  could  see,  ort  every  side.  Its  mo 
notony  was  broken  by  an  occasional  "draw," 
where  wandering  tribes  often  found  refuge 
in  defeat,  or  lay  in  ambush,  ready  to  spring 
out  at  the  approach  of  foes.  These  draws 
were  caused  by  erosion,  and  may  have  been 
the  beds  of  rivers,  long  since  dried  up. 

The  plains  were  dotted  with  wild  flow 
ers,  for  in  Kansas  each  weed,  at  some  sea 
son  of  the  year,  bursts  forth  in  all  the  glory 
of  rich  or  delicate  blossoms.  The  fall  had 
brought  its  wealth  of  gold  and  purple,  and 
the  buft'alo  grass,  more  nutritious  when 
"cured"  by  the  sun  and  hot  winds  of  sum 
mer,  had  turned  to  a  rich  brown,  the  rul 
ing  note  of  color.  Birds,  and  even  the  prairie 
dogs,  barking  and  chattering  at  the  entrances 
to  their  underground  towns,  conformed  to 
the  prevailing  tint. 

The  "Loco"  weed  had  gone  to  seed,  and 
the  Indians,  well  knowing  its  dangerous  prop- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  119 

erties,  kept  their  horses,  while  grazing,  away 
from  the  plant,  which  is  said  to  cause  ani 
mals  to  become  "locoed,"  or  insane.  A  sim 
ilar  effect  is  produced  on  human  beings,  by 
the  use  of  certain  herbs  compounded  by  the 
medicine  men. 

Winding  through  the  sandy  territory,  was 
the  Arkansas  Kiver,  in  the  autumn  a  seem 
ingly  harmless  layer  of  reddish  brown  soil 
with  apparently  stagnant  water  here  and 
there  upon  its  surface.  Underneath  the  quick 
sand  flowed  a  deep  stream,  promising  certain 
death  to  him  who  essayed  to  cross  with  any 
but  the  lightest  of  vehicles. 

The  travelers  had  reached  the  heart  of 
the  buffalo  country,  and  an  abundance  of 
game  was  found  on  every  hand.  A  buffalo 
hunt,  according  to  an  Indian's  views,  was 
second  only  to  victorious  battle,  therefore 
Ni-co-man  called  a  halt  and  the  entire  com 
pany  joined  in  a  grand  slaughter. 

The  hunters,  familiar  with  the  habits  of 
the  animals,  first  arranged  themselves  in 
groups  in  one  of  the  draws,  at  the  foot  of  a 


i2o  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

steep  embankment  or  precipice,  taking  care 
to  be  well  sheltered.  Then  a  warrior,  gro 
tesquely  arrayed,  and  astride  a  strangely 
caparisoned  steed,  galloped  toward  the  herd, 
frantically  waving  a  bright-hued  blanket.  The 
leader,  an  immense  creature,  scented  danger 
and  took  his  stand  in  front  of  the  rest.  How 
ever,  curiosity,  which  is  one  of  the  character 
istics  of  the  buffalo,  prompted  him  to  draw 
cautiously  nearer  the  queer  figure.  The  herd 
followed.  Gradually  the  decoy  backed  toward 
the  precipice,  still  gesticulating  violently. 

At  last,  the  animals,  thoroughly  fright 
ened,  stampeded,  accelerating  speed  as  they 
approached  the  embankment,  over  which 
they  rolled  and  tumbled  in  the  mad  effort 
to  escape.  Those  not  injured  in  the  fall,  re 
covered  their  feet  and  dashed  away  to  the 
opposite  slope,  being  easily  shot  in  attempt 
ing  the  toilsome  ascent.  Thus,  the  majority 
were  at  the  mercy  of  the  red  men. 

The  wanton  destruction  of  these  beasts 
at  the  hands  of  both  Indians  and  white  men 
is  to  be  deplored.  Where,  two  score  years 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  121 

ago.  thousands  roamed  the  plains,  now  noth 
ing  remains  to  prove  their  having  existed 
save  slight  depressions  in  the  earth  called 
"wallows,"  and  large  numbers  of  horns,  scat 
tered  over  the  ranches.  Once  in  a  while  the 
buffalo  ring  may  be  seen,  still  barren  of  grass. 
Here  the  ever  watchful  sentinel  had  tramped 
around  and  around  in  a  circle.  A  feast  suc 
ceeded  the  favorable  termination  of  the  hunt. 
Only  the  finest  portions  of  the  meat,  which 
resembles  beef  in  flavor,  were  reserved  as 
food.  Tongues  were  considered  a  great 
delicacy. 

Up  to  this  time,  a  few  straggling  Coman- 
ches  and  Arapahoes  were  observed,  but  as  yet 
no  traces  of  the  Sioux  appeared.  M-co-man, 
remembering  his  vision,  still  had  faith  that 
here,  upon  the  plains,  would  the  enemy  be 
vanquished. 

Early  one  morning  a  scout  came  in  with 
the  news  that,  far  to  the  north,  a  stray  band 
of  Sioux  had  encamped  the  previous  night. 
In  a  moment  all  was  excitement.  As  soon  as 
possible  the  entire  cavalcade,  well  armed  and 


122  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

ready  for  the  fray,  was  galloping  in  the  di 
rection  indicated.  At  sunset  the  Delawares 
halted  for  rest  and  food,  waiting  for  darkness 
to  make  an  attack.  But  the  enemy,  too,  were 
watchful;  and  knowing  the  presence  of  dan 
ger  almost  by  intuition,  had  prepared  for 
encounters. 

They  were  in  a  deep  cut,  not  easily  ac 
cessible.  Where  the  natural  defenses  are 
limited,  the  natives  learn  to  take  advantage 
of  every  means  of  protection.  Piling  up  large 
masses  of  hard  earth,  that  had  fallen  from 
one  portion  of  the  crumbling  bank,  they  had 
built  a  rude  fortification,  which  extended 
entirely  across  the  entrance.  In  the  rear 
was  a  narrow  pass,  with  a  steep  acclivity  on 
either  side.  Guards  were  stationed  here  and 
on  the  highest  ridges.  These  gave  the  alarm 
as  the  Delawares,  in  three  divisions,  came 
silently  forward  at  midnight. 

Ni-co-man  sent  a  detachment  of  good 
marksmen  to  the  top  of  the  embankment 
overlooking  the  Sioux,  the  second  was  des 
patched  to  the  rear  to  force  a  way  through 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  123 

the  narrow  passage,  while  he  boldly  led  the 
remainder  to  attempt  the  low  earthworks  at 
the  entrance.  The  war  -  cry  of  the  Lenape 
now  filled  the  air. 

The  Sioux,  crouching  behind  the  fort  and 
before  the  opening  at  the  back  of  the  camp, 
fought  savagely.  Occasionally  marksmen  on 
the  elevation  picked  off  one  of  their  men, 
though  it  was  a  somewhat  difficult  task  in 
the  semi-darkness. 

M-co-man,  being  taller  than  his  compan 
ions,  and  always  at  the  front,  was  a  welcome 
target  for  his  wild  opponents.  Again  and 
again  a  shadowy  figure  intervened  as  the  bul 
lets  sped  toward  him.  He  bore,  in  truth,  a 
charmed  life.  As  the  moon  passed  under 
a  cloud,  for  the  elements  were  prepar 
ing  for  a  conflict,  the  Delawares  rushed  for 
ward,  climbing  recklessly  over  the  heaps  of 
hardened  earth,  scattering  great  lumps  right 
and  left.  Some  of  the  braves  fell,  mortally 
wounded — some  pressed  upon  the  retreating 
Sioux,  who  found  themselves  in  a  trap.  The 
shadowy  figure,  invisible  to  all  but  the  chief, 


124  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

was  ever  present,  hewing  down  the  enemy 
with  his  great  tomahawk. 

The  sun  rose  upon  a  frightful  scene.  The 
carnage  was  over,  but  ghastly  upturned  faces, 
smeared  with  war-paint  and  distorted  with 
terror,  even  in  death,  told  the  tale  of  the 
night's  work.  Ere  long  it  sought  retirement, 
and  the  day  grew  dark.  Ni-co-man  gazed  at 
the  heavens  in  wonder.  Did  the  Great  Spirit 
manifest  displeasure?  A  storm  followed. 
Lightning  flashed  and  the  ground  seemed  to 
shake  with  thunder.  Rain  fell  in  torrents,  a 
most  unusual  occurrence  in  that  locality. 

When  the  atmosphere  had  cleared,  and 
the  drenched  warriors  again  beheld  the  bat 
tle-field,  lo!  all  blood  was  washed  away.  The 
Great  Spirit  had  stamped  with  approval  the 
triumph  of  his  chosen  people,  the  Lenape. 

Lawrence,  a  town  of  more  than  ordinary 
historic  interest,  now  the  site  of  the  Kansas 
State  University,  was  built  upon  land  that 
formerly  belonged  to  the  Kaws.  At  a  more 
recent  date  the  Delawares  were  established 
in  that  vicinity.  Haskell  Institute,  a  flourish- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  125 

ing  Indian  school,  is  now  located  there.  A 
majority  of  the  nation,  at  the  time  of  immi 
gration,  adhered  to  tribal  costume,  and  while 
harmless  as  far  as  their  white  neighbors 
were  concerned,  presented  a  most  ferocious 
appearance.  Many  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Lawrence  were  from  Eastern  cities,  where 
the  red  man  was  known  by  reputation  only. 
The  Indians  had  a  fear-inspiring  way  of  peer 
ing  into  the  windows  of  houses,  and  in  order 
to  obtain  a  better  view,  would  spread  out 
their  blankets  so  as  to  exclude  the  light.  Not 
infrequently  a  white  family,  while  dining, 
would  observe  that  the  room  had  become  un 
usually  dark;  and  glancing  toward  the  win 
dow  from  which  the  sunlight  had  vanished, 
would  behold  a  hideously  painted  face,  with 
piercing  eyes  looking  through  the  glass,  in 
keen  interest.  This  was  not  at  all  contrary 
to  Indian  etiquette. 

The  wife  of  a  resident  who  had  the  good 
fortune  to  secure  the  firm  friendship  of 
White  Turkey,  a  Delaware  chief,  sat  sewing 
one  day,  in  her  rocking  chair.  It  was  a  tran- 


126  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

quil  morning  in  early  summer  and  the  air 
was  still.  Suddenly  a  shadow  crossed  the 
light,  and  to  her  intense  fright,  three  huge 
Delaware®,  in  all  the  horror  of  their  pictur 
esque  native  dress,  loomed  up  before  the  win 
dow.  The  lady,  who  had  recently  arrived 
from  New  York  City,  fainted;  and  the  disap 
pointed  visitors  sought  her  husband,  inform 
ing  him  that  they  had  merely  called  to  an 
nounce  the  birth  of  a  son — the  future  chief 
— ^named  "Solomon  White  Turkey"  in  honor 
of  the  pale -face  family.  Years  later,  the 
gentleman,  while  traveling  through  the  In 
dian  Territory,  was  approached  by  an  aged 
Delaware,  surrounded  by  his  friends,  and 
introduced  to  a  tall,  prepossessing  young 
man,  who  proved  to  be  Chief  Solomon  White 
Turkey. 

Kansas  had  been  supposed  to  be  perma 
nently  secured  to  the  Indians;  but  the  emi 
grant  ever  followed  in  their  footsteps,  and 
again  the  land  of  the  Delawares  was  sold  to 
the  United  States,  and  the  people,  few  in 
number,  took  up  their  abode  in  the  Indian 
Territory. 


VI. 

THE  WYANDOTS. 

The  Wyandots,  or  Hurons,  are  of  North 
ern  origin,  and  descended  from  a  branch  of 
the  Iroquois.  At  the  time  of  the  discovery 
of  America,  their  villages  were  located  near 
the  Senecas,  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Law 
rence  Eiver.  When  Cartier  appeared,  a  small 
band  of  Delawares  first  observed  the  ships 
of  the  Frenchmen  on  the  gulf,  and  sent  mes 
sengers  to  announce  the  presence  of  "great 
white-winged  animals,  spitting  out  fire  and 
speaking  with  voices  of  thunder." 

The  Wyandots  and  Senecas  were  closely 
allied  and  lived  in  amity  many  years.  It  is 
said  that  the  long  peace  terminated  and  hos 
tilities  began  through  the  influence  of  a 
woman.  One  version  of  the  story  is  that  a 
Seneca  maiden  loved  a  young  man,  whose 
father,  a  powerful  chief,  opposed  his  son's 
taking  her  as  a  wife.  Other  suitors  were 

rejected.    Then  it  was  declared  that  the  hand 

127 


128  LEGENDS  OP  THE  KAW. 

or  the  maiden  would  be  bestowed  upon  him, 
only,  who  should  slay  the  chief.  A  Wyan- 
dot  fulfilled  this  condition  and  became  her 
husband. 

The  enraged  Senecas  flew  to  arms.  An 
interminable  war  followed.  Their  neighbors 
moved  to  the  vicinity  of  Niagara  Falls.  A 
series  of  migrations  succeeded.  At  one  epoch 
a  portion  of  the  tribe  settled  near  Lake 
Huron,  which  was  named  for  them.  A  part 
of  the  Bear  Clan  always  remained  in  Canada. 

For  some  unknown  reason,  the  other 
tribes  of  the  Five  Nations  joined  the  ene 
mies  of  the  Wyandots.  Cooper's  novels  con 
tain  numerous  allusions  to  the  undying  hatred 
of  the  Iroquois  toward  the  Hurons,  as  they 
were  called  by  the  French,  although  Wyan- 
dot  is  the  proper  term. 

Always  pursued  by  the  Senecas,  a  major 
ity  of  the  nation  became  wanderers.  In  1701, 
seeking  a  new  home,  they  embarked  in  ca 
noes  and  passed  out  of  Lake  Huron,  and 
into  and  beyond  Lake  St.  Glair.  In  the  dis 
tance  a  group  of  white  tents  was  visible.  This 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  129 

comprised  the  city  of  Detroit.  Landing,  by 
order  of  the  head  chief,  the  Indians  were  re 
ceived  kindly  by  the  governor  of  the  colony. 
Accepting  the  protection  offered,  they  found 
a  home  in  that  locality. 

After  the  French  territory  had  passed 
into  the  hands  of  the  English,  some  of  the 
Wyandots  settled  in  parts  of  Ohio  and  Mich 
igan.  They  were  divided  into  clans,  named 
for  animals,  conspicuous  among  which  were 
the  deer,  bear,  turtle,  porcupine,  snake  and 
wolf.  The  nation  originally  had  twelve  of 
these  divisions.  Two  or  more  formed  a  band. 
/  It  was  against  the  law  to  marry  in  one's  own 
*  clan.  Children  belonged  to  the  mother's 
clan;  and  women  were  accorded  the  privilege 
of  voting  for  chiefs  and  council. 

The  head  chief,  or  king,  was  the  highest 
officer.  The  succession  belonged  to  the  Big 
Turtle  and  Deer  clans;  and  every  heir  to  the 
throne  must  be  of  pure  Wyandot  blood.  The 
last  head  chief,  Suts-taw-ra-tse,  lived  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 


130  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

The  primitive  religion  of  the  Wyandots 
was  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  other  ab 
original  nations.  The  Great  Spirit  ruled  su 
preme.  There  was  a  God  of  the  Forest,  called 
Sken-ri-a  taun.  Once  a  year  a  night  feast 
was  held,  in  memory  of  the  departed.  Danc 
ing  was  dispensed  with,  but  all  joined  in  con 
dolence  with  some  lately  bereaved  family. 
It  was  thought  that  after  death,  the  soul 
must  cross  a  deep,  swift  river,  on  a  bridge 
made  of  a  slight  tree,  and  be  compelled  to 
defend  itself,  repeatedly,  from  the  attacks 
of  a  dog.  The  Dakotas  also  believed  this, 
but  affirmed  that  the  bridge  was  formed  from 
the  body  of  an  immense  snake.  The  prayer 
of  the  Huron  to  a  local  god — as  recited  ver- 
batum  by  Father  Brebeuf  —  throws  some 
light  upon  the  subject  of  their  conception  of 
Deity. 

"Oki,  thou  who  livest  in  this  spot,  I  offer 
ihee  tobacco.  Help  us,  save  us  from  ship 
wreck,  defend  us  from  our  enemies,  give  us 
a  good  trade  and  bring  us  back  safe  and 
sound  to  our  villages." 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  131 

The  teachings  of  the  Jesuits  were  early 
engrafted  upon  the  original  faith. 

Few  of  the  oldest  Wyandot  legends  have 
been  preserved.  The  literary  world  is  in 
debted  to  Schoolcraft  for  the  narration  of 
the  experience  of  Sayadio,  which  gives  a 
glimpse  into  the  spirit  world  as  pictured  by 
Indian  fancy. 

The  heart  of  Sayadio  was  heavy  with 
sorrow.  His  young  and  beautiful  sister  had 
died  and  he  refused  to  be  comforted.  De 
sirous  of  bringing  her  back,  the  young  man 
embarked  upon  a  long  and  difficult  journey 
to  the  land  of  souls.  When  ready  to  give  up 
in  despair,  after  many  adventures,  he  met  an 
old  man  who  gave  him  a  magic  calabash 
with  which  to  dip  up  the  spirit,  when  it 
should  be  found.  This  man,  who  proved  to 
be  the  keeper  of  that  part  of  the  land  where 
the  maiden  dwelt,  also  gave  him  her  brains, 
which  had  been  carefully  kept. 

On  reaching  the  place  of  departed  souls, 
Sayadio  was  surprised  that  they  fled  at  his 
approach.  Tarenyawgo  assisted  him.  The 


132  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KA.W. 

spirits  had  assembled  for  a  dance  and  he 
attempted  to  embrace  his  sister,  but  she 
straightway  vanished  with  the  others.  Ta- 
renyawgo  then  provided  him  with  a  mystical 
rattle  to  call  them  back.  The  taiwaiegun,  or 
drum,  sounded,  and  the  notes  of  the  flute  could 
be  heard.  Immediately  the  air  was  full  of 
floating  figures,  and  Sayadio,  dipping  up  the 
damsel  with  the  magic  calabash,  despite  the 
efforts  of  the  imprisoned  soul  to  liberate  it 
self,  returned  to  earth. 

Friends  were  invited  to  the  lodge,  and 
the  dead  body  brought  from  its  place  of  bur 
ial  to  be  restored  to  life.  Just  before  the 
moment  of  reanimation,  a  curious  old  woman 
looked  into  the  calabash,  and  the  spirit  took 
flight.  Sayadio  gazed  heavenward  but  could 
see  nothing.  Then,  with  downcast  eyes,  he 
sat  in  the  lodge,  deploring  that  idle  curiosity 
had  rendered  of  no  avail  his  travels  to  the 
land  of  the  departed. 

Peter  Clarke,  a  native  writer,  was  un 
doubtedly  one  of  the  most  reliable  sources 
of  information  regarding  the  ancient  his- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KJLW.  133 

tory  of  the  Wyandots,  whose  descendants, 
absorbed  by  the  white  race,  have  permitted 
the  customs  and  many  of  the  traditions  of 
their  forefathers  to  die  out.  Until  a  compar 
atively  recent  period  many  firmly  believed 

THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  WHITE  PANTHER. 

On  the  shore  of  Lake  Huron,  long  years 
ago,  was  a  deep  pool,  or  spring,  in  the  midst 
of  marshy  ground.  An  outlet  into  a  river 
allowed  the  discharge  of  surplus  water. 
Reeds  and  tall  grasses  almost  obscured  the 
pond  from  view,  and  the  scream  of  the  loon 
and  the  cry  of  the  reed-bird  alone  disclosed 
its  presence,  until  the  traveler  found  him 
self  upon  its  very  verge. 

The  Wyandots  knew  of  this  place,  and 
had  little  doubt  that  it  was  inhabited  by  a 
mysterious  spirit.  Sometimes  the  water  rose 
and  fell,  as  if  stirred  by  the  breathing  of  an 
immense  animal  beneath  its  surface,  then 
grew  suddenly  calm.  A  benighted  hunter, 
passing  that  way,  told  of  a  wondrous  light, 
sparkling  like  the  glow  of  a  thousand  fire- 


134  LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW. 

flies;  and  of  a  rumbling  sound  that  shook 
the  earth,  announcing  that  an  evil  spirit  was 
at  work. 

A  party  of  the  Prairie  Turtle  Clan  camped 
one  day  at  the  spring,  established  an  altar 
and  offered  burnt  offerings  to  the  strange 
god.  Articles  of  value,  silver  ornaments  and 
wampum  belts,  were  feast  into  the  pool  and 
Ce-zhaw-yen-hau  was  chosen  to  call  up  the 
spirit.  Standing  in  the  marsh,  with  a  bow 
in  one  hand  and  a  bunch  of  arrows  in  the 
other,  he  chanted  a  song;  while  his  compan 
ions,  in  homage  to  the  Hoo-kee,  or  wizard  of 
the  spring,  burned  tobacco.  He  invoked  the 
spirit  to  come  forth.  A  loon  arose,  scream 
ing  and  flapping  its  wings. 

"Not  you,"  said  Ce-zhaw-yen-hau,  and  the 
loon  vanished.  Next  came  an  otter. 

"Not  you,"  said  the  Indian,  "begone!  Come 
forth,  you  wizard!" 

The  water  rose,  as  if  agitated  by  some 
huge  body,  and  a  white  panther  emerged, 
looking  eastward.  Piercing  its  side  with  an 
arrow,  the  conjurer  quickly  extended  a  small 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  135 

vessel  to  catch  the  blood  which  trickled  from 
the  creature's  side.  The  moment  the  pan 
filled,  the  wounded  animal  disappeared,  and 
the  air  vibrated  with  a  rambling,  muttering 
sound,  like  distant  thunder.  Volumes  of 
turbid  water  came  to  the  surface,  indicat 
ing  the  course  the  monster  had  taken  in  pass 
ing  down  the  river.  Never  again  was  it  seen 
at  the  pool. 

The  Prairie  Turtle  Clan,  which  had  always 
been  considered  refractory  in  disposition,  and 
inclined  to  be  rebellious  toward  the  Good 
Spirit,  now  formed  a  society  and  deified  the 
white  panther.  Anyone  who  divulged  the 
secrets  of  the  association  was  instantly  put 
to  death.  The  blood  in  the  small  vessel  co 
agulated  and  became  dry.  This  was  broken 
into  pieces  and  distributed  among  the  mem 
bers  to  be  placed  in  their  medicine  bags.  The 
medicine  bag  was  usually  made  from  the 
whole  skin  of  an  otter,  a  mink,  or  other  di 
minutive  animal.  Those  who  had  been  led 
by  fanaticism  to  seek  new  gods  were  repeat 
edly  warned  by  the  Catholic  priest  to  re- 


136  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

nounce  the  evil  spirit,  or  it  would  cause 
their  destruction. 

"Throw  away  the  baneful  substance  which 
came  to  you  from  the  devil  in  the  form  of 
a  panther,"  he  said,  "for  just  as  certain  as 
you  continue  to  keep  it  among  you,  the  time 
is  not  far  distant  when  you  will  be  ruined 
by  it,  body  and  soul." 

The  unmanageable  society,  however,  per 
sisted  in  worshipping  the  white  panther;  and 
the  substance  obtained  from  the  demon  of 
the  spring,  which  was  used  in  witchcraft, 
eventually  consumed  the  members  themselves. 

Not  many  years  after  the  episode  at  the 
pool,  Ce-zhaw-yen-hau  turned  traitor  to  the 
nation,  and  joined  the  Seneeas.  When  lead 
ing  a  war-party  against  his  own  people,  dur 
ing  the  absence  of  the  men,  he  saw  two  young 
women  working  in  a  field  adjacent  to  the 
village.  In  a  frenzy  of  enthusiasm  for  new 
friends  and  of  hatred  of  the  old,  he  slew  the 
two  girls,  and  fled  precipitately. 

The  warriors,  returning,  pursued  with 
fury,  and  overtook  the  murderers,  crossing  a 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  137 

miry  creek.  The  entire  band  was  destroyed, 
with  the  exception  of  two  Senecas.  Putting 
out  the  eyes  of  one  and  cutting  off  the 
thumbs  of  the  other,  the  Wyandots  sent 
them  back  to  their  nation  to  tell  the  story. 

The  white  panther  worshippers  were  now 
made  objects  of  revenge,  being  hunted  down 
and  killed,  if  suspected  of  carrying  the  ruin 
ous  substance.  The  Prairie  Turtle  Clan  final 
ly  became  extinct.  Its  fate  was  considered 
an  evidence  of  the  evil  effects  of  being  led 
by  superstition  to  adopt  unknown  gods. 

The  Hurons,  keen  and  skeptical,  became 
acknowledged  leaders  in  the  councils  of  na 
tions.  When  the  Ottawas,  Chippewas,  Pot- 
tawatomies  and  Wyandots  formed  an  alliance 
for  mutual  protection,  the  latter  were  ap 
pointed  keepers  of  the  council  fire,  and  the 
inter  -  national  archives  were  committed  to 
their  care. 

Wampum  belts  designated  agreements. 
Wampum  was  manufactured  from  a  species 
of  sea-shell  and  was  composed  of  tubes  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter  and  one-half 


138  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

an  inch  in  length.  These  were  fastened  to 
gether  with  strong  cords  or  ligaments.  Each 
belt  represented  a  compact,  the  conditions 
of  which  were  retained  in  memory  by  the 
chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  tribe.  The  beaver 
belt  of  the  Mohawk,  Captain  Brant,  emblem 
atic  of  secret  enmity,  was  deemed  a  pledge, 
on  the  part  of  those  who  accepted  it,  to  as 
sist  in  exterminating  the  Wyandots.  A  dark 
colored  bead  belt,  with  a  red  tomahawk  up 
on  it,  indicated,  when  exhibited  in  council, 
that  warfare  was  in  contemplation.  These 
tokens,  as  well  as  parchments  and  other  rec 
ords,  were  taken  to  Kansas  in  1843,  but  be 
came  scattered  and  are  now  the  property  of 
private  parties. 

The  Green  Corn  Dance  was  celebrated 
each  year,  in  the  month  of  August.  Festiv 
ities  opened  with  a  great  banquet  in  which 
corn  was  the  principal  element.  After  all 
had  partaken  generously  of  corn  soup,  corn 
bread  and  meat  boiled  with  corn,  the  men 
formed  in  a  circle  and  the  dance  began.  A 
wild  chant,  or  Hoo-ah,  accompanied  the  music 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  139 

of  the  tom-tom  and  cedar  flute;  and  dried 
deer  hoofs,  tied  around  the  legs  of  the  war 
riors,  rattled  as  they  kept  time.  The  cedar 
flute,  a  much  valued  instrument,  was  com 
posed  of  two  cylindrical  pieces  of  wood,  tied 
together  with  buckskin  thongs.  At  intervals 
a  sudden  change  of  step  and  outward  turning 
of  faces  occurred,  every  movement  possessing 
deep  religious  significance. 

At  the  annual  corn  feast,  children  and 
those  adopted  into  the  nation,  received  names, 
bestowed  by  the  clans  instead  of  by  the  pa 
rents.  Each  clan  had  a  list  of  names  that  it 
was  required  to  keep  in  use.  A  Wyandot 
historian  tells  a  singular  story,  which  illus 
trates  the  belief  of  the  tribe  in  the  necessity 
of  observing  this  law. 

While  living,  with  the  rest  of  her  people, 
at  Lower  Saiidusky,  a  young  girl,  gathering 
strawberries  a  short  distance  from  the  vil 
lage,  was  taken  prisoner  by  a  party  of  white 
scouts.  On  the  second  night  of  her  journey 
in  their  company,  a  queer-looking  Indian  ap 
peared  in  a  vision,  and  isaid: 


140  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

"I  come  to  tell  you  that  to-morrow  about 
noon  these  white  men  will  meet  a  party  of 
Indians  on  the  war-path,  and  have  a  fight. 
Then  will  be  your  chance  to  escape  and  re 
turn  home.  I  am  not  one  of  your  race;  I  am 
a  frog,  although  appearing  in  human  shape. 
Your  race  has  often  rescued  one  of  our  kind 
from  the  jaws  of  the  snake,  therefore,  it  is 
with  grateful  feeling  that  I  come  to  tell  you 
of  an  opportunity  to  escape  from  the  hands 
of  these  snoring  white  men,  lying  around 
here." 

Next  morning  the  march  was  continued. 
About  noon,  as  predicted,  the  Indians  came 
in  view  and  immediately  made  an  attack.  In 
a  moment  of  excitement,  the  prisoner  was 
forgotten.  Without  waiting  to  learn  the  out 
come  of  the  struggle,  she  ran  into  the  woods 
and  was  soon  beyond  reach  of  enemies.  At 
dark,  the  tired  and  hungry  maiden  crept  into 
a  hollow  sycamore  tree,  through  an  aperture 
at  its  base,  and  fell  asleep.  An  Indian 
woman  became  visible  in  a  dream,  and  said: 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KA.W.  141 

"The  day  after  to-morrow  you  will  meet 
a  party  of  warriors  from  your  village.  Fol 
low  their  war  path  northward.  I  am  not 
one  of  your  race;  I  am  a  bear.  Say  to  the 
people  that  there  are  three  names  belong 
ing  to  your  clan,  the  Bear  Clan,  that  are  not 
now  among  you.  Keep  these  names  in  use 
hereafter." 

The  famishing  girl  spent  another  night  in 
the  woods,  and  at  dawn  resumed  her  travels, 
striking  the  war  path  at  mid-day.  When 
the  shadows  began  to  lengthen,  she  met  the 
Wyandots  upon  this  trail.  Providing  food 
and  replacing  the  torn  clothing  and  worn-out 
moccasins  with  the  best  that  could  be  ob 
tained  in  such  an  emergency,  they  started 
her  toward  home,  where  a  glad  welcome 
awaited  the  wanderer,  and  perfect  willing 
ness  to  heed  the  admonition  of  her  dreams. 

In  the  war  of  1812,  a  portion  of  the  tribe 
adhered  to  Great  Britain,  while  the  remain 
der  espoused  the  American  cause.  Round 
head  (Staw-ye-tauh),  who  lived  at  the  largest 
Wyandot  village  in  Michigan,  and  Warrow, 

10-., 


142  LEGENDS  or  THE  KAW. 

the  leading  chief  on  the  Canadian  side  of  the 
Detroit  River,  took  an  active  part  on  behalf 
of  the  British,  and  were  conspicuous  in  the 
battle  of  the  River  Raisin.  Walk-in-the- 
Water  (Mey-ye-ra),  maintained  strict  neutral 
ity,  although  in  sympathy  with  the  Americans. 

Big  Tree,  a  Wyandot  whose  eventful  life 
has  made  his  name  a  familiar  one,  warred 
against  the  Americans,  beginning,  when  a 
boy,  at  Braddock's  defeat.  He  belonged  to 
the  Bear  Clan  and  was  noted  for  strength 
and  activity.  During  a  war  with  the  South 
era  Indians,  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Cherokees,  in  a  battle  on  the  Kentucky  River. 
The  contest  was  a  bloody  one,  the  combat 
ants  laying  aside  guns,  bows  and  arrows  and 
fighting  with  tomahawks.  Night  ended  the 
struggle  and  both  sides  retired  from  the  field. 

Big  Tree  was  taken  from  one  place  to  an 
other;  at  last  to  the  mouth  of  a  river,  un 
known  to  him.  The  Cherokees  held  council 
and  concluded  to  burn  the  prisoner.  Before 
the  sentence  could  be  executed,  a  woman 
whose  sons  had  been  killed  in  the  battle, 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  143 

stepped  forward  and  claimed  him.     She  said: 

"You  took  all  my  sons  with  you.  Now 
they  are  dead  and  I  am  left  alone  without 
any  help.  I  claim  this  young  man  as  my 
son.  Will  you  pity  my  age  and  helplessness 
and  release  him  to  me?" 

He  was  given  to  the  widow,  but  could 
not  forget  his  own  people  and  was  always 
looking  for  a  chance  to  escape.  The  oppor 
tunity  came  while  he  was  out  hunting.  For 
three  days  and  nights  the  Cherokees  pursued. 
The  fugitive  became  faint  from  want  of  food. 
Reaching  the  Ohio  River,  he  paused  a  mo 
ment  and  prayed: 

"O  Great  Spirit,  help  a  poor  prisoner  to 
swim  this  river,  that  he  may  get  home  to 
his  own  country."  Then,  tying  his  gun  on 
his  head,  plunged  into  the  water  and  suc 
ceeded  in  getting  to  the  opposite  shore.  He 
killed  a  deer,  cooked  a  part  of  the  meat  and 
rested.  After  three  moon's  traveling,  the 
wanderer  arrived  home. 

In  his  old  age:  Big  Tree  became  a  devout 
Christian,  and  often  related  how  he  had  tried 


144  LEGENDS  OP  THE  KAW. 

to  follow  the  advice  of  the  old  people  in  the 
worship  of  the  Great  Spirit;  how  he  had 
feared  the  "Man  in  the  Clouds";  and  had  fol 
lowed,  first,  the  Seneca  Prophet,  next  the 
Shawnee  Prophet,  then  had  gone  back  to 
the  religion  of  his  fathers;  and  finally, 
through  the  teachings  of  Stewart,  the  colored 
preacher,  had  gone  down  on  his  knees,  with 
the  petition: 

"0  Homendezue,  tamentare,  tamentare  (O 
Great  Spirit,  take  pity  on  me,  take  pity 
on  me)." 

Chief  Splitlog  (To-oo-troon-too-ra),  a  broth 
er  of  Roundhead,  and  also  a  Koyalist,  was 
one  of  the  last  to  give  up  the  habits  of  his 
progenitors.  Although  a  Roman  Catholic,  he 
retained,  to  a  great  extent,  the  ancient  be 
liefs  of  his  people.  One  who  was  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  history  of  Splitlog,  de 
scribes  the  last  effort  on  the  part  of  the  chief 
to  observe  the  old  customs,  in  the  following 
language: 

"One  day,  a  few  years  before  he  died,  af 
ter  the  last  council  wigwam  was  demolished 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  145 

(wigwam,  or  we-go-wam,  is  a  Chippewa  word 
for  any  kind  of  a  house),  and  the  ground  on 
which  it  stood  had  been  ploughed  up,  he 
called  together  at  his  residence,  the  few  who 
still  adhered  to  the  ancient  customs  of  the 
tribe.  It  was  his  last  feast,  and  the  last 
dance  song  of  this  feast  sounded  mournful 
to  the  ears  of  the  distant  passer,  who  knew 
what  it  was. 

Two  Indians,  with  whole  snapping  turtle 
shells,  having  some  hard  substance  inside  to 
make  a  rattling  sound,  sat  on  the  ground, 
with  two  folded  deer  skins,  pelt  side  out, 
between  them,  on  which  they  beat  with  the 
turtle  shells,  while  singing  for  the  dance. 
The  necks  of  the  turtles  were  stretched  out 
to  their  utmost  length  and  stiffened,  for  han 
dles.  After  the  dance,  the  musicians  were 
allowed  to  walk  off  with  the  deer  skins  as 
their  compensation." 

Much  has  been  said  concerning  the  brav 
ery  and  adventures  of  Chief  Splitlog,  not  only 
in  the  battles  against  General  Wayne,  but 
also  in  the  war  of  1812. 


146  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

William  Walker,  the  father  of  Governor 
Walker,  was  one  of  General  Harrison's  scouts 
at  that  time.  Having  been  captured,  several 
years  before,  by  the  Delawares,  and  traded 
to  the  Wyandots,  he  had  become,  both  by 
marriage  and  adoption,  a  member  of  the  lat 
ter  nation.  During  the  heat  of  battle  he  was 
taken  prisoner  by  the  British  and  carried 
along  with  the  army,  his  wife,  also  a  prir 
oner,  being  placed  on  board  an  English  wa 
ship. 

In  1842  Silas  Armstrong  and  Matthew 
Walker,  whose  Indian  name,  translated,  was 
"Twisting  the  Forest,"  were  sent  beyond  the 
Mississippi  to  locate  a  new  home,  and  went 
as  far  west  as  Salina,  Kansas,  with  the  inten 
tion  of  buying  a  large  tract  of  land.  A  thor 
ough  investigation,  however,  resulted  in  their 
securing  from  the  Delawares  a  comparatively 
small  tract,  seven  or  eight  miles  in  extent 
and  the  Wyandots  established  themselves  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Kaw  Kiver. 

William    Walker,    afterward    Provisional 
Governor    of    Nebraska    Territory,    had    pre- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  147 

viously  traveled  west,  having  this  removal 
in  mind,  and  examined  the  lands.  He  was  a 
man  of  education  and  great  strength  of  char 
acter — an  acknowledged  leader  in  the  nation, 
as  well  as  a  writer  of  merit. 

Matthias  Splitlog  was  identified  with  the 
early  commercial  interests  of  Kansas  City. 
Leaving  Canada  about  the  year  1840,  he  re 
sided  for  some  time  at  Neosho,  Missouri,  and 
was  the  projector  of  a  small  railroad,  now  a 
portion  of  the  Pittsburg  &  Gulf  line.  He  re 
moved  to  Wyandotte,  Kansas,  became  inter 
ested  in  numerous  financial  ventures  and 
was-  known  as  the  wealthiest  of  the  Indians. 
Shrewd  business  men  and  corporations  ren 
dered  his  later  life  a  series  of  law  suits;  and 
much  property  was  sacrificed. 

This  silent  and  reserved  man  lived,  for 
many  years,  simply,  in  a  log  house.  His  wife 
was  unable  to  converse  in  English.  Finally, 
accompanying  the  remnant  of  the  tribe  to  the 
Indian  Territory,  he  built  a  mansion,  with 
modern  conveniences,  in  the  reservation  of 
the  Senecas. 


148  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

At  the  time  of  emigration  to  Kansas,  a  ma 
jority  of  the  people  were  of  superior  intelli 
gence,  had  long  adopted  the  arts  of  civiliza 
tion  and,  through  the  influence  of  mission 
aries,  had  become  converted  to  Methodism. 
They  were  distinguished  for  regularity  of 
feature  and  grace  of  movement,  keeping  per 
fect  measure  in  the  dance.  The  women  were 
adepts  in  the  art  of  needle  -  work.  At  the 
home  of  a  lady  of  Wyandot  lineage,  is  ex 
hibited  an  elaborate  piece  of  beading,  of 
great  age,  in  fleur-de-lis  pattern.  The  cen 
ter  of  each  leaf  is  of  pale  pink,  encircled 
with  dark  green,  skillfully  shaded  to  delicate 
tints.  A  variety  of  colors  were  introduced, 
yet  the  whole  produced  a  most  harmonious 
effect. 

The  belle  of  the  nation  in  the  '40s  is  said 
to  have  been  so  beautiful  and  cultured  that,  on 
the  occasion  of  a  visit  to  New  Orleans,  she 
was  supposed  to  be  a  French  lady,  and  the 
most  exclusive  society  of  the  city  extended 
courtesies.  The  handsome  young  woman 
reigned  supreme  for  a  short  period.  On  the 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  149 

return  trip,  three  or  four  squaws  boarded 
the  steamer,  and  after  standing  quietly  back 
for  a  brief  space,  silent  witnesses  of  her  nu 
merous  conquests,  one  of  them  came  forward 
and  said: 

"Her  squaw,  like  me — heap  big  squawk 
Contrary  to  general  opinion,  the  Indians 
possessed  a  keen  sense  of  humor  and  thor 
oughly   enjoyed   a   laugh   at   the   expense   of 
one  of  their  number. 

In  the  olden  days,  Elder  Dennison  con 
ducted  services  in  the  Methodist  Church, 
through  an  interpreter.  One  Sunday,  owing 
to  the  illness  of  the  latter,  a  well-educated 
Wyandot  named  Browneyes,  was  engaged  as 
substitute.  Browneyes,  not  being  religious 
ly  inclined,  had  partaken  too  freely  of  fire 
water.  However,  he  appeared  on  the  scene 
well  dressed  in  honor  of  the  event.  A  huge 
cravat,  faultlessly  tied,  and  a  dark  green 
coat,  resplendent  with  brass  buttons,  were 
prominent  features  of  his  attire.  Unfortu 
nately,  a  large  flask  protruded  from  his  hip 
pocket,  and  it  was  quietly  decided  that  Mr. 


150  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

Armstrong  should  officiate.  Browneyes  sat 
down  in  a  front  seat,  apparently  humiliated 
on  account  of  being  supplanted.  The  sermon 
proceeded  smoothly  for  a  time,  then  he  re 
marked,  distinctly: 

"Sile,  you  are  not  telling  a  word  of  truth, 
and  you  know  it." 

No  attention  was  paid  to  the  interruption, 
but  when  the  discourse  became  more  elo 
quent,  he  averred,  loudly  and  decidedly: 

"Sile,  that's  a  lie,  and  you  know  it." 

Elder  Dennison,  discontinuing  the  address, 
said : 

"Let  us  pray." 

Descending  from  the  rostrum,  he  placed 
one  hand  in  the  back  of  Browneyes'  cravat, 
twisted  it  until  the  man's  tongue  hung  out, 
and  prayed  long  and  loudly.  It  is  needless  to 
say  this  was  the  last  time  the  services  were 
interfered  with  while  the  elder  presided. 

A  strange  story  is  related  concerning 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  151 

THE    TRIUMPH    OF    CHUDAQUANA    OVER    THE 
POWER  OF  WITCHCRAFT. 

For  some  reason,  Chudaquana  had  gained 
the  enmity  of  a  certain  old  woman  of  the 
community;  perhaps  he  had  unwittingly 
slighted  her;  perhaps  a  family  feud  existed; 
at  any  rate,  the  evil  black  eyes  seemed  to 
follow  him  from  plaice  to  place.  It  was  re 
ported  that  this  woman  had  the  faculty  of 
changing  herself  into  a  dog.  Chudaquana 
noticed  that  a  stealthy-looking  canine  was 
constantly  at  his  heels.  Day  after  day,  and 
week  after  week,  the  animal  was  to  be  seen 
skulking  near.  The  eyes  were  certainly  those 
of  the  witch.  Fearing  some  great  misfortune 
might  ensue  if  this  continued,  he  decided  to 
be  rid  of  the  nuisance  once  and  forever. 

In  order  to  kill  a  witch  it  was  necessary 
to  use  silver  bullets.  Having  procured  these, 
Chudaquana  went  about  his  ordinary  pur 
suits,  keeping  a  sharp  lookout,  meantime,  for 
the  enemy.  It  could  be  seen  in  the  rear,  at 
some  distance,  tracing  his  footsteps.  The 
man  sought  shelter  behind  a  tree.  On  came 


152  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KA.W. 

the  wild-looking  animal,  sniffing  at  the  ground. 
As  it  paused  directly  opposite,  there  was  a 
sharp  report,  an  unearthly  howl,  and  the 
witch  was  no  more.  The  silver  bullet  had 
fulfilled  its  mission.  The  old  woman,  so 
rumor  said,  carried  to  the  day  of  her  death, 
festering  and  sore,  the  mark  of  a  bullet  in 
her  side. 

Romantic  courtships  and  marriages  be^ 
tween  Wyandot  maidens  and  white  settlers 
were  not  infrequent. 

Before  the  entire  tribe  had  discarded  its 
picturesque  costume,  a  young  man  of  Cau 
casian  descent  located  among  the  Wyandots 
for  the  purpose  of  trade.  One  clear  October 
morning,  looking  from  the  door  of  the  small 
frame  building  in  which  he  conducted  bus 
iness,  he  saw  a  graceful  figure  approaching, 
and  a  moment  later,  an  Indian  girl  of  thir 
teen  or  fourteen  years,  arrayed  in  all  the 
finery  of  her  people,  stepped  lightly  across 
the  threshold  and  stood,  glancing  confusedly 
and  with  decided  coquetry,  at  the  young  mer 
chant.  Her  slight  form  was  clothed  with  a 


LEGENDS  or  THE  KA.W.  153 

loose  crimson  waist,  or  shirt,  and  a  short 
skirt  ornamented  with  embroidery  and  notch 
ed  ribbons.  Beaded  moccasins  covered  the 
little  feet,  and  broadcloth  leggings  extended 
to  the  knees.  Her  black  hair  was  confined 
by  a  silk  handkerchief.  The  color  came  and 
went  in  the  dark  cheeks,  and  bright  eyes 
flashed  admiration  from  under  long  lashes. 
He  hastened  to  respond  to  orders  given  tim 
idly  in  the  universal  language  of  signs. 

Again  and  again  Markrete  visited  the 
store,  purchasing  brilliant  hued  calicoes, 
beads  and  blankets,  and  receiving  little  pres 
ents  from  the  trader,  who  endeavored  in  this 
manner  to  win  her  regard.  At  last  he  was 
compelled  to  employ  an  interpreter,  who  at 
tempted  to  persuade  her  to  accept  an  offer 
of  marriage. 

For  some  time  the  girl  turned  a  deaf  ear 
to  all  overtures.  She  was  too  young  to  give 
up  freedom;  and  marriage,  to  an  Indian 
woman,  meant  slavery.  She  climbed  fences 
and  rode  horses;  on  one  occasion,  when  there 


154  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

was  no  ferry,  swimming  her  horse  a/cross  the 
river  in  order  to  visit  a  relative. 

However,  after  protracted  efforts  under 
many  difficulties,  the  young  man  was  vic 
torious;  and  acquired  rights  in  the  nation,  an 
Indian  name,  and  last,  but  not  least,  pretty 
Markrete. 

The  Wyandots  have  been  gradually  ab 
sorbed  by  the  white  race,  and  those  who 
maintain  tribal  relations  are  located  in  the 
Indian  Territory.  Many  prominent  residents 
of  Kansas  City  are  descended  from  the 
Wyandots. 


VII. 

THE  POTTAW ATOMIES. 

The  Pottawatomies  were  of  Algonquin  de 
scent  and  were  termed  "Firemakers,"  in  ref 
erence  to  their  secession  from  the  Odjibwas 
and  becoming  the  makers  of  their  own  fires. 
The  Odjibwa  tradition  says  that  there  were 
two  brothers  at  St.  Mary's  Falls.  The  fishing- 
rod  of  the  younger  was  taken  into  the  rapids 
by  the  other  and  accidentally  broken.  A  quar 
rel  ensued.  The  elder  brother  went  south. 
This  was  the  origin  of  a  new  tribe.  The  Pot 
tawatomies  of  the  Woods,  located  in  Wiscon 
sin  and  Michigan;  and  the  Prairie  Bands,  of 
Illinois  and  Indiana,  formed  the  two  prin 
cipal  divisions  of  the  nation,  whose  homes 
were  scattered  from  the  shores  of  Lake  Su 
perior  to  the  Illinois  River.  In  language  and 
customs,  the  Pottawatomies  were  similar  to 
the  Ottawas  and  Chippewas,  with  whom  they 
were  closely  allied.  They  crowded  the  Miam- 
is  from  the  vicinity  of  Chicago. 
155 


156  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

In  the  war  of  1812,  the  Prairie  Bands,  un 
der  the  leadership  of  Suna-we-wone,  fought 
against  the  Americans,  and  were  at  the  mas 
sacre  at  Fort  Dearborn.  The  United  States 
effected  a  treaty  of  peace  with  them  in  1815, 
and  afterward  purchased  a  portion  of  their 
land.  Eighteen  years  later,  the  cession  known 
as  the  Platte  Purchase  was  made,  in  consid 
eration  of  which  the  Government  granted 
576,000  acres  adjoining  the  Shawnees  and 
Delawares,  in  Kansas.  Subsequently,  the  tribe 
became  widely  scattered.  Portions  located  in 
Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Kansas  and  the  Indian 
Territory. 

The  Pottawatomies  believed  in  two  Great 
Spirits,  Kitchenonedo,  Good  Spirit,  and  Match- 
emondo,  Evil  Spirit.  Kitchenonedo  made  the 
world  and  its  first  inhabitants;  they  looked 
like  people,  but  were  wicked  ungrateful  dogs 
that  never  lifted  their  eyes  from  the  ground, 
to  return  thanks. 

In  punishment,  the  Creator  dropped  the 
earth,  with  everything  upon  it,  into  a  great 
lake,  from  which  it  emerged  only  after  the 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  157 

destruction  of  the  race.  Then  a  handsome 
young  man  appeared,  who  seemed  sad  because 
of  loneliness.  Kitchenonedo  pitied  him  and 
sent  a  sister  to  brighten  his  life.  Many  years 
later  the  young  man  had  a  dream.  Telling 
it  to  his  sister,  he  said: 

"Five  young  men  will  come  to  your  lodge 
door  this  night.  The  Great  Spirit  forbids 
you  to  answer  or  even  look  up  and  smile  at 
the  first  four,  but  when  the  fifth  comes,  you 
may  speak  and  laugh  and  show  that  you  are 
pleased." 

She  obeyed  his  directions.  The  first  who 
arrived  was  named  U-sa-ma,  or  Tobacco,  and 
being  repelled,  he  fell  down  and  died;  the 
next,  Wa-pa  ko,  or  Pumpkin,  meeting  a  like 
reception,  followed  his  example;  the  third, 
Esh-kos-si-min,  or  Melon,  and  the  fourth, 
Ko-kees,  or  Bean,  had  the  same  misfortune; 
but  she  smiled  upon  the  fifth,  who  was  named 
Tamin,  or  Montamin  (Maize),  and  opened  the 
lodge  door  that  he  might  enter.  They  were 
married;  and  from  them  are  descended  the 

North  American  Indians. 

11— 


i58  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

Tamin  buried  his  ill-fated  rivals;  and  from 
their  graves  sprang  tobacco,  melons,  beans 
and  pumpkins;  and  the  Pottawatomies  said 
that  was  the  way  in  which  the  Good  Spirit 
furnished  his  people  something  to  put  into 
1heir  a-keeks,  or  kettles,  with  the  meat,  and 
something  to  offer  as  a  gift  at  feasts  and 
ceremonies. 

Long  after  a  majority  of  the  nation  had 
become  Christianized,  they  clung,  in  a  great 
measure,  to  the  ancient  superstitions. 

Not  many  miles  distant  from  the  place 
where  Topeka  now  stands,  lived  a  chief  called 
Menweshma.  Menweshma  wras  a  believer  in 
the  Indian  doctrine  of  transformation,  and 
gravely  asserted  that  he  could  turn  his  four 
hundred  and  eighty  pounds  of  flesh  into  a 
bird  or  beast.  Tradition  says  that  it  was  a 
favorite  pastime  of  his,  to  assume  the  form 
of  an  owl. 

Being   an   inveterate   gambler,   he   at   one 

time  became  the  victim  of  a  scheme  by  which 

he  was  defrauded.    This  so  enraged  the  Potta- 

>mie  that  he  killed  the  seven  Indians  who 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KA.W.  159 

participated  in  the  trick,  and  according  to  the 
laws  of  the  tribe,  was  called  upon  to  pay  a 
heavy  ransom  or  submit  to  death.  After  sur 
rendering  all  his  possessions,  Menweshma 
was  yet  indebted  to  the  amount  of  five  hun 
dred  dollars.  This  sum  was  borrowed  from 
the  trader,  and  year  after  year  passed  and 
the  chief  continued  to  disregard  the  solicita 
tions  of  the  white  man  to  pay. 

One  night,  after  Menweshma  had  appeared 
particularly  annoyed  by  these  requests,  the 
settler  and  his  family  were  disturbed  by  the 
hooting  of  an  owl.  Seizing  a  rifle,  the  man 
shot  in  the  darkness  at  what,  appeared  to  be 
the  outline  of  the  bird,  and  saw  an  object 
fall  to  the  ground.  On  reaching  the  spot,  he 
stooped  to  pick  it  up— and  the  nocturnal  vis 
itor  could  not  be  found. 

At  nine  o'clock  next  morning  came  a  mes 
senger  with  the  request  that  he  go  at  once 
to  Menweshma,  who  was  dying.  Entering 
the  hut,  he  was  left  alone  with  the  medicine 
man  and  the  dying  chief.  The  Pottawatomie, 
disclosing  a  great  wound  in  his  side,  said: 


160  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

"Didn't  you  shoot  an  owl  at  your  house, 
last  night?  I  was  that  owl,  and  had  gone 
there  to  poison  your  children." 

Queer    explanations    were    accepted    wit* 
out  question,  by  the  Indians,  and  often  white 
folks    were   puzzled    to    account    for    strange 
events. 

Even  the  most  warlike  tribes  did  not  hes 
itate  to  resort  to  deception,  if,  perchance,  a 
victory  were  to  be  gained  without  striking 
a  blow. 

Below  the  junction  of  the  Republican  and 
Smoky  Hill  rivers  was  a  reservation  of  the 
Pottawatomies.  Just  without  its  limits,  the 
Pawnees,  always  at  war  and  straying  from 
rightful  boundaries,  were  wont  to  lie  in  wait 
for  their  less  courageous  neighbors. 

On  a  sunny  afternoon  in  the  spring  of 
1856,  seven  or  eight  hunters  and  trappers, 
going  westward  from  Fort  Kiley,  were  con 
fronted  by  a  panic-stricken  band  of  several 
hundred  Pottawatomies.  The  fugitives,  gal 
loping  toward  the  reservation,  shouted,  "Paw 
nee!  Pawnee!"  Later  in  the  day,  the  plains- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  161 

men  came  upon  the  Pawnees,  a  party  of  fifty 
men,  celebrating  with  great  satisfaction,  their 
success  in  putting  the  foe  to  flight.  The 
/atter,  in  the  morning,  had  camped  not  far 
from  a  large  hill,  or  bluff,  behind  which  the 
enemy  were  holding  consultation  as  to  the 
best  mode  of  attack.  In  order  to  give  the  im 
pression  of  numerical  strength,  the  fifty 
braves  filed  around  and  around  the  bluff, 
seemingly  an  interminable  line,  then,  with 
olood  -  curdling  war  -  whoops,  dashed  toward 
the  camp.  The  Pottawatomies  fled  precip 
itately,  leaving  the  entire  supplies  to  fall  in 
to  the  hands  of  the  strategists,  who  took  ad 
vantage  of  every  opportunity  to  intimidate 
the  more  pacific  nations  of  eastern  or  south 
ern  origin,  removed  west  by  the  Government. 
With  the  exception  of  the  Shawnee  Proph 
et,  the  cruel  and  vindictive  war-chief,  Wa- 
baun-see,  was,  doubtless,  the  most  famous 
Indian  among  the  emigrant  nations.  His 
brave  deeds  have  formed  the  subject  of  many 
interesting  anecdotes.  Notable  among  them  is 


1 62  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  FLAT-BOAT. 

Near  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
the  Americans  again  commenced  to  encroach 
upon  Indian  territory,  and  some  of  them  pro 
ceeded  southwestward  down  the  Ohio  River 
in  large  boats  about  thirty-five  or  forty  feet 
in  length  and  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  breadth, 
with  barricaded  decks.  The  rightful  owners 
of  the  soil,  determined  to  prevent  further 
settlement,  disputed  every  mile  of  progress 
by  all  possible  means. 

One  day  the  scouts,  led  by  Wa-baun-see, 
watched  a  floating  fort  from  the  north  bank 
of  the  river.  An  attack  was  feasible,  since 
the  pilot  kept  well  to  the  middle  of  the 
stream,  beyond  reach.  The  Indians  consulted 
as  to  the  best  method  of  overcoming  this 
difficulty.  Word  was  sent  to  the  main  body 
of  wrarriors  to  conceal  themselves  at  a  cer 
tain  point  that  jutted  out  into  the  water,  at 
some  distance  below  their  present  location. 
They  were  also  instructed  to  be  prepared  for 
battle  when  the  boat  should  go  ashore.  Mean 
time,  despite  all  efforts  to  the  contrary  on 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  163 

the  part  of  the  pilot,  the  raft  showed  a  de 
cided  tendency  to  approach  the  river  bank. 
The  man  at  the  helm  was  admonished  again 
and  again,  but  insisted  that  he  had  been  do 
ing  all  in  his  power  to  keep  off  from  shore. 
The  pilot  then  made  a  careful  examination 
of  the  boat  on  the  side  next  to  land.  A  black 
object  bobbed  up  occasionally,  then  disap 
peared.  Closer  scrutiny  revealed  a  nude  In 
dian,  swimming  under  water  and  tugging 
away  at  a  rope  held  in  his  teeth.  The  other 
end  was  fastened  to  the  boat.  Once  in  a 
while  the  swimmer  was  compelled  to  come  to 
the  surface  for  breath. 

Quietly  obtaining  his  bayonet,  the  pilot 
watched  the  water  with  interest.  Again 
the  dark  head  and  shoulders  emerged. 
They  were  those  of  the  war-chief.  Quick  as 
a  flash,  the  bayonet  plunged  downward  into 
his  back.  Wa-baun-see  sank  out  of  sight, 
keeping  under  water  until  he  reached  the 
shore.  The  braves  conveyed  him  to  a  place 
of  safety  and  carefully  dressed  the  dangerous 
wound.  The  daring  chief  recovered. 


1 64  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

When  the  Osages  were  strong  and  power 
ful,  and  claimed  thousands  of  broad  acres 
south  of  the  Missouri  River,  they  were  fre 
quently  at  war  with  the  Pottawatomies. 
During  a  battle,  Wa-baun-see  was  routed,  in 
addition  to  losing  a  friend  in  the  sally.  The 
proud  spirit  of  the  war-chief  was  injured; 
and  the  humiliation  caused  by  defeat  and  the 
death  of  the  brave  rankled  in  his  mind  after 
other  warriors  had  seemingly  forgotten  the 
circumstances.  He  determined  to  seek  re 
venge,  should  it  ever  become  possible.  Years 
passed  without  the  gratification  of  his  wishes. 
Then  came  the  news  that,  at  an  appointed 
time,  a  delegation  of  Osages  would  visit  a 
certain  western  fort.  Wa-baun-see,  with 
some  of  his  best  men,  repaired  to  the  post, 
and,  after  a  formal  interview,  withdrew. 
They  galloped  a  few  miles  away  and  waited 
for  darkness.  The  Osages  feared  treachery 
and  communicated  their  suspicions  to  the 
commandant.  Permission  to  sleep  inside  the 
fortifications  was  asked  and  granted. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KJLW.  165 

In  the  night,  when  all  was  silent,  Wa-baun- 
see  rode  quietly  toward  the  place.  He  sta 
tioned  his  men  at  a  safe  distance  and  went 
forward  to  inspect  the  defenses.  It  was  nec 
essary  to  employ  the  utmost  caution,  in  or 
der  to  avoid  the  guards.  Approaching,  he 
threw  himself  upon  the  ground  and  crept 
around  the  walls,  finding,  at  last,  an  em 
brasure,  almost  too  small  to  permit  the  pas 
sage  of  a  man's  body.  The  chief  was  seek 
ing  revenge  and  was  not  to  be  daunted,  there 
fore,  after  a  long  and  painful  effort,  suc 
ceeded  in  writhing  through  the  aperture, 
and  warily  sought  out  the  adversaries  of  his 
people.  They  were  sleeping  soundly,  feeling 
secure  in  the  protection  afforded  by  the  pres 
ence  of  soldiers.  Wrapped  in  a  blanket,  and 
lying  upon  the  ground  a  short  distance  from 
the  group,  was  the  head  chief.  Crawling 
through  the  grass,  the  Pottawatomie  reached 
his  side.  There  was  no  disturbance,  only  a 
dull  thud,  as  the  tomahawk  buried  itself  in 
the  head  of  the  slumberer.  Securing  the 


1 66  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

scalp,  Wa-baun-see  retired  as  noiselessly   as 
he  had  come. 

In  the  morning  the  Osages  were  greatly 
surprised  and  enraged  to  learn  that  the  en 
emy  ha,d  been  in  their  midst. 

The  impression  that  the  relentless  chief 
was  the  most  ferocious  Indian  of  his  time, 
was  confirmed  by  the  frightful  punishment 
of  one  of  his  wives,  accused  by  another  wife, 
probably  a  favorite,  of  cruelty  to  his  chil 
dren.  Without  giving  the  poor  woman  an 
opportunity  to  plead  her  cause,  he  com 
manded  the  accuser  to  split  open  her  skull. 

Wa-baun-see  accompanied  his  tribe  to 
Kansas  in  1816,  and  during  the  latter  part 
of  that  year,  went  to  Washington,  with  other 
influential  men,  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  the 
Government.  The  stage-coaich,  in  which  they 
passed  through  Missouri  on  the  way  home, 
overturned  near  Boonville,  and  Wa-baun-see 
sustained  severe  injuries,  which  ultimately 
resulted  in  death. 


VIII. 

THE  SHAWNEES. 

The  capital  of  Kansas  now  occupies  a  por 
tion    of    the    former    hunting-grounds    of    the 
Kaw  and   Shawnee   Indians.     The   Shawnees 
were    the    first    emigrant    tribe    to    arrive    in 
the    Territory.      The    ancient    home    of    the 
nation  was  near  the  Cumberland  River.    Ear 
ly    in    the     Seventeenth     century,     the     Iro- 
quois    invaded    that    region    and    vanquished 
its  owners,  who  tied  south  and  became  scat 
tered,  settling  in  Carolina  and  Florida.     At  a 
later   period,   the   divisions   of   the   tribe    re 
united  and  returned  to  the  vicinity  of  their 
old   home,   taking   possession   of   a   more    ex 
tended   country   and   founding   towns   in    the 
Ohio  Valley.     When  they  were  driven  west, 
the  Baron  De  Carondelet  granted  them  land 
near  Cape  Girardeau. 

As   the   white    people    entered    Louisiana, 
the  Shawnees  sought  new  homes,  again  and 

again.     Finally,  they  relinquished  all  claims 
167 


1 68  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

in  Missouri,  in  consideration  of  a  large  pur 
chase  in  Kansas.  In  1854  a  treaty  was  signed, 
disposing  of  all  their  land  except  two  hundred 
thousand  acres,  which  were  divided  among 
individuals;  and  in  1869  the  remnant  of  the 
tribe  removed  to  the  Cherokee  country,  in 
the  Indian  Territory. 

A  migration  tradition  says  that  once, 
when  the  Shawnees  lived  in  the  far  East,  on 
the  shores  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  they  were 
surprised  to  see,  riding  along  on  the  back  of 
a  large  fish,  a  creature  that  looked  like  a 
man,  although  it  had  long  green  hair  like 
weeds,  a  face  like  a  porpoise  and  a  beard  the 
color  of  ooze.  Around  its  neck  were  strings 
of  sea-shells,  and  in  its  hand  was  a  staff  made 
from  the  rib  of  a  whale;  and,  most  astonish 
ing  of  all,  the  strange  being  had  the  bodies 
of  two  fishes  for  legs.  He  stopped  near  shore 
and  sang  of  the  beautiful  things  in  the  depths 
of  the  sea.  The  people  heard,  in  amazement, 
for  he  spoke  their  language. 

Day  after  day  and  week  after  week,  the 
Man-Fish  might  be  seen,  seated  on  the  water, 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  169 

with  his  legs  curled  up  under  him;  and  all 
the  time  he  sang  of  new  countries;  and  the 
people,  charmed,  left  their  work  and  listened. 
Men  forgot  to  go  hunting  and  the  women  no 
longer  busied  themselves  around  the  wig 
wams,  but  stood  on  the  beach  and  watched. 
Repeatedly,  the  creature  sang:  "Come,  fol 
low  me";  but  they  refused  to  go.  At  last 
the  supply  of  food  in  the  village  was  ex 
hausted.  Hunters  entered  a  boat  and  tried 
to  catch  fish,  but  without  success.  The  Man- 
Fish  flirted  water  over  them  with  his  legs, 
and  laughed  at  their  trouble,  chanting  a 
melody  about  the  wonderful  Spirit  Island, 
in  the  midst  of  the  Great  Salt  Sea.  The 
Shawnees  said: 

"Can  you  show  us  anything  better  than 
we  have  —  good  wives,  good  children,  good 
dogs  and  plenty  of  deer?" 

But  the  stranger  reminded  them  of  storms 
in  the  Moon  of  Falling  Leaves,  of  snow  and 
ice,  of  hunger  and  constant  danger  from  wild 
animals  and  painted  warriors,  saying: 


1 70  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

"Come  with  me  and  I  will  show  you  a 
land  where  the  air  is  always  warm  and  soft, 
and  the  flowers  are  always  in  bloom;  where 
you  will  find  as  many  deer  as  are  among  your 
icy  hills,  and  great  herds  of  animals  called 
bison;  where  the  men  grow  tall  and  the 
women  beautiful  as  the  stars  of  night." 

The  Shawnees  were  afraid,  and  attempted 
to  go  toward  shore,  but  were  held  back  by 
an  unknown  hand.  They  consulted  among 
themselves.  The  Man  -  Fish  bobbed  up  his 
head  and  sang:  "Follow  me."  They  decided 
to  obey. 

Out  on  the  water,  a  mighty  storm  arose. 
The  Great  Spirit  could  be  heard  hissing  in 
the  depths  of  the  ocean.  The  boat  rocked 
and  swayed  on  the  billows;  but  the  protector 
was  near  and  told  them  not  to  fear.  He 
brought  food  and  a  shell  of  fresh  water  from 
the  bottom  of  the  sea.  Two  moons  passed 
before  land  appeared.  It  was  the  glittering 
Spirit  Island,  with  big  trees  and  high  moun 
tains.  From  some  of  them  lightning  seemed 
to  shoot.  Along  the  shores  were  seals  and 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  171 

ducks.  The  inhabitants  fled  into  the  woods, 
when  they  saw  the  Man-Fish,  who  went  to 
find  the  Spirit  of  the  Island.  He  entered  a 
cave  and  soon  returned,  accompanied  by  a 
being  as  strange  as  himself.  It  had  a  head 
like  a  goat,  with  horns  and  beard,  and  moss- 
colored  hair.  Its  legs  and  feet  were  covered 
with  handsomely  decorated  leggings  and  moc 
casins.  Speaking  with  the  voice  of  a  man, 
it  said: 

'•I  will  take  you,  men  of  the  Land  of 
Snows,  to  a  beautiful  place,  where  you  will 
find  all  that  could  be  desired." 

The  Man-Fish  departed,  and  under  the 
guidance  of  their  new  friend,  the  strangers 
reached  the  interior  of  the  Spirit  Island. 
They  married  the  maidens  of  the  country  and 
grew  into  a  bold,  strong  and  valiant  nation, 
overcoming  all  tribes  east  of  the  River  of 
Rivers. 

The  Shawnees  were  of  Algonquin  stock 
and  were  the  roving  clans,  the  gypsies  of  the 
wilderness,  described  by  William  Penn,  bel 
ligerent  under  ill  -  treatment  but  peaceable 


172  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

when  dealt  with  justly.  Keferring  to  the  cre 
ation,  they  said: 

"The  Master  of  Life  made  the  Shawnees 
first,  from  his  brain,  and  gave  them  all  his 
knowledge.  Other  red  people  descended  from 
them.  He  made  the  French  and  English  from 
his  breast,  the  Dutch  from  his  feet  and  the 
Long-knives  (Americans)  out  of  his  hands." 

One  of  the  most  interesting  legends  is 
that  which  has  reference  to  the  origin  of  the 
Piqua  Shawnees.  The  word  "Piqua"  signi 
fies  "Man  Made  from  Ashes." 

It  seems  that  long  ago,  in  the  dim  past, 
the  nation  made  a  talk  against  the  Walkullas, 
who  lived  not  far  away,  on  the  shore  of  the 
Great  Salt  Lake.  The  older  men  opposed  a 
war;  but  Mad  Buffalo  and  the  young  war 
riors  refused  to  listen  to  their  counsel. 

"We  are  strong,-'  said  they,  "and  the  Wal 
kullas  are  weak." 

A  party,  eager  for  a  fight,  went  out  from 
the  village.  Two  moons  passed  and  there 
were  no  tidings  of  the  young  men.  The  Wal 
kullas  were  distant  only  six  suns  journey. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  173 

The  third  moon  went  by;  and  Chenos,  the 
oldest  and  wisest  man  of  the  tribe,  called  the 
people  together  in  council;  he  told  them  that 
the  young  warriors  had  been  slain.  There 
was  a  shriek  of  horror  and  the  women  began 
to  lament  for  their  husbands  and  sons. 

"Yet,"  said  Chenos,  "there  is  one  left, 
who  has  had  vengeance  on  the  enemy  and 
has  drunk  their  blood;  he  will  soon  be  here." 

Even  as  he  spoke,  the  Mad  Buffalo  en 
tered  the  Council  Wigwam.  One  arm  was 
tied  up  with  a  piece  of  deer  skin;  and  there 
was  dried  blood  upon  his  body.  Attached  to 
a  pole,  over  his  shoulder,  were  seven  scalps. 
Six  of  them  had  long  black  hair,  but  the 
seventh  was  the  color  of  sunshine,  and  curl 
ing.  He  told  them  how  the  braves  had  crept 
up  to  the  enemy  and  watched  them  prepare 
a  feast  to  the  Great  Spirit;  then,  when  all 
was  in  readiness,  the  war  -  cry  had  been 
sounded.  The  Shawnees  had  killed  many, 
but  the  foe  had  been  visited  by  people  with 
skins  as  white  as  the  clouds,  who  had  taught 
them  to  use  thunder  and  lightning  in  battle. 


174  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

Mad  Buffalo's  men  had  done  well,  but  were 
slain,  at  last. 

Chenos  told  the  leader  that  he  should  not 
have  gone  at  a  time  when  the  Walkullas  were 
making  sacrifices.  The  relatives  of  the  dead 
warriors  called  out  for  vengeance.  The  wise 
men  counseled  as  to  what  would  most  surely 
appease  the  Master  of  Breath.  Chenos  said: 

"The  Mad  Buffalo  must  give  up  that  which 
is  most  dear." 

The  leader,  casting  a  fierce  glance  toward 
him,  said  he  would  offer  none  of  his  own 
blood,  but  would  kill  a  deer.  Then  Chenos 
said: 

"The  Mad  Buffalo  has  not  told  all.  There 
is  another,  a  prisoner,  with  trembling  heart." 

The  warrior  replied: 

"Mad  Buffalo  never  lies;  he  has  a  pris 
oner";  and  with  that,  he  went  out  of  the 
Council  Wigwam  and  brought  in  a  woman. 
He  motioned  her  to  lift  the  veil  that  covered 
her  face.  The  wild  men  of  the  forest  gazed 
entranced.  She  had  a  skin  white  as  snow, 
and  cheeks,  red,  but  not  with  paint,  like  the 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  175 

Indian's.  More  beautiful  than  the  flowers, 
than  the  sun,  moon  or  clouds,  was  the  maid 
en.  The  Mad  Buffalo  claimed  her  as  his 
own,  telling  how  he  had-  saved  her  and  car 
ried  her  in  his  arms. 

The  relatives  of  the  dead  men  cried  out 
for  blood.  Chenos  forbade  the  sacrifice,  say 
ing  that  perhaps  she  had  come  from  the  Great 
Spirit.  Then  the  wicked  ones  left  the  place 
and  sought  the  aid  of  a  bad  man  named 
Sketupah.  Sketupah  said  the  beautiful  wo 
man  must  be  sacrificed;  he  directed  that 
certain  religious  rites  be  performed,  with  a 
wolf,  a  tortoise  and  a  rattlesnake. 

A  large  ball  rolled  up  the  hill  and  un 
wound  itself.  A  queer  little  old  man  with 
green  eyes,  stepped  out.  The  ball  was  made 
from  his  own  hair,  which  was  the  color  of 
moss,  and  so  long  that  when  blown  around 
by  the  wind,  it  seemed  like  the  tail  of  a 
star.  The  little  old  man,  who  was  the  Evil 
Spirit,  commanded  them  to  bring  forth  the 
beautiful  woman  and  tie  her  to  a  stake.  They 
did  so,  and  piled  sticks  around  her  feet.  As 


1 76  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

the  flames  arose,  the  Mad  Buffalo,  giving  his 
war-cry,  ran  forward  against  the  Evil  Spirit. 
A  breath  from  the  powerful  one,  and  he  lay 
stricken  with  death.  Chenos  called  on  the 
Master  of  Life  for  help.  The  Ruler  of  All 
came,  his  eyes  visible  from  afar,  shining 
like  two  great  stars.  The  evil  one  grew 
small,  and  his  power  failed  when  the  Great 
Spirit  advanced.  The  beautiful  woman  was 
spared  and  the  Master  of  Life  said: 

"Men  of  the  Shawnee  nation,  the  pale- 
faced  people  from  over  the  Great  Salt  Lake 
are  your  brothers." 

He  told  them  that  he  had  made  all  races; 
that  the  Indian  was  red  because  fear  never 
entered  his  breast:  that  the  heart  of  the 
white  man  was  so  chilled  that  the  blood  was 
scared  from  his  cheeks;  that  the  Shawuee 
had  been  brought  from  the  land  of  the  pale 
face,  long  ago,  but  had  lost  his  paleness. 
Then  he  said: 

"Bake  the  ashes  of  the  sacrificial  fire;  and 
when  the  Star  of  the  Evening  rises,  put  in 
the  body  of  Mad  Buffalo  and  cover  it  over 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  177 

with  wood;  keep  the  fire  burning  for  two 
whole  moons;  bring  out  the  beautiful  woman 
and  place  her  near  the  ashes.  This  is  the 
will  of  the  Great  Spirit." 

The  people  obeyed  these  commands,  and 
when  the  time  had  been  fulfilled,  there  was 
a  disturbance  in  the  ashes,  and  a  man,  tall, 
strong  and  perfect,  came  forth.  He  walked 
up  to  the  maiden  and  looked  into  her  eyes. 
Chenos  gave  her  to  him  as  a  wife;  and  from 
them  were  the  Piquas  descended. 

A  Shawnee  religious  belief,  the  doctrine 
of  a  pre-natal  existence,  bears  some  resem 
blance  to  that  of  the  Buddhists,  and  reminds 
one  of  the  fact  that  all  nations  have  a  com 
mon  ancestor  in  the  Aryan  race.  The  fol 
lowing  incident,  related  by  an  Indian  agent, 
proves  the  implicit  faith  reposed  in  this  par 
ticular  belief. 

When  the  United  States  Government  re 
moved  the  tribe  to  Kansas,  the  Pawnees 
waged  incessant  war  against  the  new  ar 
rivals.  Many  times,  ere  the  country  became 
their  home,  had  war  parties  of  the  Shaw- 


178  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

nees  traversed  the  rolling  prairie,  passed  out 
upon  the  plains,  battled  with  the  wild  In 
dians  of  the  West,  and  returned,  sometimes 
laden  with  booty,  to  their  reservation  east 
of  the  Mississippi. 

The  red  man  never  forgets  what  he  con 
siders  an  indignity.  The  spirit  of  revenge  is 
always  an  incentive  to  action;  hence,  the 
recent  comers  were  under  the  necessity  of 
keeping  themselves  in  readiness  for  an  en 
counter  at  any  moment.  Rumors  of  an  at 
tack  by  the  enemy  floated  into  the  settle 
ments,  and  the  head  chief  marshaled  out  his 
men  to  check  the  advancing  warriors.  After 
a  ride  of  one  hundred  miles  to  the  northwest, 
the  scouts,  far  to  the  front,  espied  in  the 
distance,  what  appeared  to  be  a  great  num 
ber  of  small  black  objects,  outlined  against 
the  sky.  A  nearer  view  disclosed  the  fact 
that  the  Pawnees  were  approaching.  Infor 
mation  was  carried  to  the  main  body. 

Both  parties  called  a  halt.  Then,  the  war- 
chief  of  the  Shawnees,  accompanied  by  an 
aide,  rode  forward,  signifying  that  he  desired 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KA.W.  179 

a  conference.  He  was  met  in  the  open  space 
between  the  lines,  by  an  opponent,  a  fierce- 
looking  Indian,  and  by  his  side  a  brave  of 
unusual  size  and  strength.  Contrary  to  cus 
tom,  it  was  agreed,  after  a  parley,  that  two 
of  the  most  skillful  warriors  should  meet 
upon  the  prairie,  in  the  presence  of  both 
sides,  and  decide  the  battle  by  a  hand-to- 
hand  conflict. 

Returning  to  their  men,  the  chiefs  called 
for  volunteers.  A  quick  response,  and  the 
chosen  ones  rode  to  the  central  ground,  dis 
mounted,  and  consigned  their  ponies  to  the 
waiting  assistants,  to  be  led  back  to  the 
lines.  There  was  a  moment  of  hesitation — 
of  suspense  to  the  spectators.  The  warriors 
regarded  one  another  with  looks  of  astonish 
ment  and  recognition.  Then  La-ma-to-the, 
the  Shawnee,  spoke: 

"Know  you  not,  Pawnee,  that  we  have 
met,  far  back  in  the  past,  the  past  that  ap 
pears  to  us  now  as  the  distant  mountains 
when  wrapped  in  smoke  from  heaven's  pipe 
of  peace?" 


i8o  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

"Yes,"  replied  the  other,  "I  remember  the 
blue  sky  and  the  broad  prairie,  covered  with 
sweet  grasses,  where  the  rest  of  our  kind 
fed  quietly,  or,  scenting  danger,  galloped 
wildly  from  place  to  place." 

"Pawnee,  we  were  bison,  then  (Puk-wah- 
chee-in'-tho-tho),  belonging  to  the  same  herd 
and  following  the  same  leader.  Let  us  go 
back  to  our  people  and  tell  them  we  were 
brothers  in  the  other  world." 

They  separated,  and  the  war  chiefs,  1111  dor- 
standing  well,  looked  upward,  in  reverence  to 
the  Great  Being  who  had  transformed  them 
all  in  the  time  long  ago;  then  returned  in  si 
lence  to  their  villages. 

Many  Shawnees  and  Pottawatomies  claim 
that  they  are  of  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel. 
Certain  customs  that  have  descended  to  them 
from  time  immemorial,  seem  to  bear  out  this 
theory.  Their  Holy  of  Holies  corresponds  to 
the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  of  the  Israelites. 
Its  contents  were  known  only  to  its  posses 
sor,  and,  under  penalty  of  death,  all  others, 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  181 

except  the  medicine  men,  were  forbidden  to 
touch  the  sacred  relic,  which  was  wrapped 
and  re-wrapped  with  bark  until  it  became  a 
good-sized  bundle. 

The  Shawnee  language  is  a  dialect  of  the 
Algonquin,  which  possesses  all  the  vowel 
sounds.  The  letters  f,  r,  and  v  are  wanting. 
X  is  also  wanting  in  all  Algonquin  languages 
except  the  Delaware  and  Mohican.  There  is 
a  strong  affinity  between  the  Shawnee  and 
the  Mohican  dialects.  Verbs  are  full  and 
varied  in  their  inflections.  The  meanings  of 
whole  words  are  concentrated  upon  a  few 
syllables  or  upon  a  single  letter.  The  prefix 
tab,  indicates  futurity.  Everything  is  con 
sidered  as  divided  into  two  classes — animate 
and  inanimate.  Terminations  change  accord 
ingly.  Divested  of  their  appendages,  words 
become  monosyllables.  The  syllable  e-bun  is 
added  to  the  name  of  one  deceased.  This  is 
equivalent  to  the  words  "has  been"  and  is 
a  delicate  way  of  indicating  a  person's  demise. 
For  instance,  Tecumseh,  after  death,  becomes 
Tecumseh-e-bun  or  "Has  Been  Tecumseh.'' 


1 82  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

A  wealthy  trader  who  married  the  de 
scendant  of  a  French  officer  stationed  in 
Canada  during  Colonial  days  and  the  daugh 
ter  of  a  chief  of  the  Chippewas,  passed 
through  many  strange  experiences  while  so 
journing  among  the  Shawnees. 

One  moonlight  night,  riding  from  West- 
port,  now  a  part  of  Kansas  City,  to  Union- 
town,  on  the  present  site  of  Valencia,  he  left 
the  beaten  road  and  took  a  short  cut  for 
home  over  a  seldom  used  Indian  trail.  A 
ghostly  stillness  prevailed,  which  was  broken, 
ere  he  had  proceeded  far,  by  a  series  of  blood 
curdling  groans,  sometimes  clear  and  distinct, 
sometimes  like  the  rushing  of  the  wind,  but 
always  seeming  to  follow  in  his  wake.  Draw 
ing  a  revolver  and  wheeling  to  confront  the 
enemy,  he  found  only  empty  air — while  the 
pale  moon  still  shone  serenely  down  upon  the 
unbroken  prairie.  Again  the  terrible  sounds 
became  audible;  and  the  horse  was  urged  to  its 
highest  rate  of  speed  without  avail.  A  sensa 
tion  of  horror  creeping  over  him,  the  pioneer 
turned  into  a  path  leading  to  an  Indian  hut 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  183 

— the  noise  sweeping  by  like  the  breath  of  a 
cyclone — and  inquired  the  cause.  His  host, 
well  versed  in  explanations  of  the  medicine 
men,  replied: 

"Had  you  remained  upon  that  trail,  the 
route  of  a  rambling  night  spirit,  you  would 
have  surely  died  before  the  break  of  day." 

Doubtless  these  interpretations  often  serv 
ed  to  cover  murderous  designs. 

On  another  occasion  he  was  urged  by  a 
friendly  Indian,  a  member  of  a  secret  soci 
ety,  not  to  undertake  his  usual  journey,  as, 
at  a  gulley  south  of  Martin's  Hill,  danger  lay 
in  wait.  True  enough,  at  that  place  a  large 
gray  wolf  sprang  out  and  made  a  fierce  lunge, 
inflicting  deep  wounds  upon  the  horse.  The 
traveler  fired  but  missed  the  animal.  Again 
and  again  the  ferocious  creature  jumped  at 
him,  each  time  failing  to  reach  the  man  and 
burying  its  teeth  in  the  horse.  After  a  furi 
ous  conflict,  in  which  the  rider  succeeded  in 
beating  back  the  wolf  with  the  butt  of  his 
pistol,  he  urged  forward  the  wounded  steed 
and  was  enabled  to  outrun  his  wild  adversary. 


1 84  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

A  Shawnee,  descended  from  the  principal 
characters  described,  is  authority  for  the  fol 
lowing  story,  of 

MAUNE',  THE   CHIPPEWA  GIRL. 

Near  the  city  of  Quebec,  so  long  ago  as 
the  time  of  the  French  and  Indian  War, 
lived  a  dark-eyed  girl  of  the  Chippewa  tribe, 
in  whose  sweet  face  bloomed  a  dusky  beauty 
that  distinguished  her  from  other  maidens  of 
the  nation  and  caused  her  to  become  an  ob 
ject  of  admiration  to  the  gallant  young  offi 
cers  who  were  struggling  to  maintain  the 
supremacy  of  France.  Had  it  not  been  for 
the  brilliant  victory  of  General  Wolfe,  and 
the  noble  sacrifices  of  the  British  and  Col 
onial  troops,  there  were  no  sad  story  to  re 
cord,  for  with  the  advent  of  England  came 
an  exodus  of  the  French  soldiery  from  the 
Dominion,  and  crushing  sorrow  to  Maune', 
whose  heart  had  been  captured  by  the  hand 
somest  officer  in  the  vicinity  of  their  village. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  a  great  chief,  re 
nowned  among  his  people  for  deeds  of  bravery 
in  war,  therefore,  it  had  occasioned  small 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  185 

surprise  when  the  noble  Colonel  Beauchamie 
selected  la  petite  Mauner  as  his  Indian  bride. 
In  time,  two  fine  boys  brought  new  sun 
shine  into  the  rude  quarters  which,  in 
those  primitive  days,  served  as  home,  though 
to  the  young  mother,  the  rich  furs  and  blank 
ets  and  pretty  trinkets  writh  which  she  was 
endowed,  seemed  the  very  acme  of  luxury. 

Life  was  full  of  sweet  contentment,  until, 
one  clear,  cold  morning,  the  French  looked 
out  in  astonishment  upon  the  army  of  Gen 
eral  Wolfe,  drawn  up  in  battle  array.  How 
it  had  ascended  the  steep  cliffs  was  a  mys 
tery  to  those  within  the  walls. 

General  Montcalm,  resting  his  faith  in  su 
perior  numbers,  risked  a  battle  outside  the 
fortifications.  The  heroism  and  patriotism  of 
the  opposing  generals,  their  glorious  death, 
the  celebrated  victory  of  the  English  with  its 
important  results,  and  the  final  expulsion  of 
the  French  from  that  portion  of  the  New 
World,  are  all  matters  of  history. 

Colonel  Beauchamie  was  ordered  back 
to  France  with  his  regiment.  The  ques- 


1 86  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

tion  now  obtruded  itself,  "What  should  be 
done  with  Maune'?"  He  could  not  present  an 
Indian  wife  to  friends  at  home,  neither  was 
he  willing  to  leave  his  sons  in  Canada.  After 
prolonged  consultation  with  a  few  brother 
officers,  it  was  quietly  arranged  that  the  chil 
dren  should  be  spirited  away  and  placed  on 
board  a  ship  destined  to  transport  the  sol 
diers  back  to  their  native  land;  and  the  de 
voted  woman  was  to  be  deserted. 

Maune',  suspecting  these  designs,  crept 
quietly  behind  the  partition  that  screened 
the  officers  from  view,  and  listened  to  the 
development  of  the  plan.  Her  affectionate 
heart  sank  as  she  became  aware  of  her  hus 
band's  perfidy.  Love,  grief  and  determina 
tion  followed  in  rapid  succession.  Sadly  she 
stole  away  and  prepared  for  flight.  A  canoe 
was  stored  with  provisions  and  the  sleeping 
children  placed  inside;  then,  with  mingled 
feelings  of  affection  and  the  hatred  and  reso 
lution  peculiar  to  her  race,  she  bade  farewell 
to  home,  happiness,  country,  all  that  made 
life  dear,  except  the  slumbering  babes.  For 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  187 

their  sakes  she  would  struggle  through  the 
wilderness  to  a  more  favored  land.  Where, 
she  knew  not.  The  Great  Spirit  would  guide 
and  protect  her;  and  the  blood  of  fierce  war 
riors,  which  flowed  in  the  veins  of  this  child 
of  Nature,  gave  strength  and  courage  in  tbo 
hour  of  need. 

Up  the  river  she  proceeded,  keeping  close 
to  shore;  when  at  a  safe  distance  from  pur 
suit,  landing  for  rest  and  for  the  purpose  of 
adding  to  their  scant  amount  of  provisions. 
From  the  river  into  the  lakes,  slowly,  cau 
tiously,  Maune'  made  her  way,  passing  through 
untold  hardships,  always  caring  tenderly  for 
the  dependent  little  ones.  Cold,  hunger,  wild 
beasts  and  the  tierce  storms  of  the  Northern 
lakes  were  alike  disregarded;  and  at  last, 
long  after  English  rule  had  been  firm 
ly  established  in  Canada,  and  Quebec  and 
\lontreal  converted  into  British  headquar 
ters;  after  the  cruel  conquerors  had  banished 
the  simple  Acadians  from  their  land — Maune', 
weak,  emaciated  and  fainting  with  starva- 


1 88  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

tion,  was  found  by  a  wandering  party  of 
Shawnees,  upon  the  Illinois  shore. 

By  almost  superhuman  efforts,  the  heroic 
woman  had  preserved  her  children;  and  the 
hardships  of  the  journey  had  produced  no 
serious  effects  upon  their  sturdy  constitu 
tions.  Adopted  into  the  tribe,  she  found  a 
habitation  with  the  friendly  Shawnees. 

Though  the  image  of  her  pale-faced  hus 
band  was  never  erased  entirely  from  the 
heart  of  the  faithful  Chippewa,  and  a  linger 
ing  sadness  and  silence  kept  her  in  partial 
isolation,  she  lived  many  years  in  quiet  and 
saw  her  sons,  as  they  grew  to  manhood,  re 
garded  as  the  boldest  and  most  successful  of 
the  tribe,  in  times  of  peace  and  war. 

Advancing  age  brought  with  it  the  sus 
picion  of  witchcraft.  Maune'  was  of  a  strange 
nation;  and  her  adherence  to  unknown  cus 
toms  aroused  fear  in  the  breasts  of  the  ig 
norant  Shawnees.  Finally,  the  leading  med 
icine  man  decreed  that  she  must  die.  Her 
sons  were  powerless  to  resist  the  tide  of 
superstition. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KA.W.  189 

A  bundle  of  sticks  was  produced,  and  the 
unfortunate  creature  tied  to  a  stake.  Then 
the  horrible  torture  commenced.  Frantic  In 
dians,  chanting  their  weird  melodies,  danced 
round  the  fire,  as  it  slowly  consumed  the  ill- 
fated  Chippewa.  Not  a  sound  of  terror  or  of 
anguish  escaped  the  woman  in  this  moment 
of  exquisite  suffering.  At  last,  a  merciful 
breath  of  flame  severed  the  thread  of  life, 
and  all  that  remained  of  the  bright  little 
maiden,  who  had  been  the  idol  of  her  brave 
Canadian  people,  was  a  disfigured  mass  of 
charred  flesh  and  bones. 

Surely  the  Great  Spirit  whom  she  wor 
shipped,  and  the  tender  Mother  of  Christ, 
whom  the  Jesuits  had  taught  her  to  implore, 
looked  down  in  pitying  love,  and  recompensed, 
in  the  Spirit  Land,  this  child  of  misfortune 
— Maune'  la  miserable. 

Tragedies  were  every  -  day  occurrences 
among  the  natives,  in  those  days,  and  there 
were  times  when  fanaticism  swept  all  before 
it;  but  that  the  great  men  of  the  Indians 

is- 


190  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

were  not  unworthy  of  the  admiration  and  re 
spect  of  their  enemies,  is  shown  in 

A   FRAGMENT   OF    HISTORY    FROM    THE    WAR 
OF  THE   RACES. 

On  a  picturesque  cliff  overlooking  the  Mad 
River,  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Ohio,  was 
located,  more  than  a  century  ago,  the  Indian 
village  of  the  Piqua  Shawnees. 

The  settlement  was  prosperous  and  fully 
two  hundred  acres  of  land  were  in  cultivation. 
A  log  fort,  surrounded  with  pickets,  had 
been  built,  and  the  Shawnees  were  prepared 
for  defense  in  the  event  of  an  attempt  to 
capture  the  town. 

This  beautiful  spot  was  the  birth  -  place 
of  the  famous  Tecumseh — Shooting  Star — the 
most  illustrious  Indian  that  ever  battled 
for  the  rights  of  his  people.  Eloquent,  pow 
erful  in  mind  and  body,  and  possessing 
the  soul  of  a  hero,  the  patriotic  chief  was, 
at  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
deep  in  plans  for  the  advancement  of  his 


TECUMSEH. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  191 

race.  Is  it  a  matter  of  surprise  that  he 
should  oppose,  with  ceaseless  energy,  the  en 
croachment  of  the  white  man?  That  his  tal 
ents  should  be  unsparingly  used  in  the  hope 
less  endeavor  to  stay  the  westward  progress 
of  civilization?  He  had  seen  the  red  man 
repeatedly  deprived  of  land,  under  almost 
compulsory  treaties  with  the  Government. 
His  independent  spirit  rebelled  against  the 
authority  of  the  pale-face;  and  the  circum 
stances  of  his  father's  death,  during  the  troub 
lous  times  when  the  celebrated  Cornstalk 
waged  war,  had  made  a  lasting  impression. 
The  far-seeing  leader  realized  that  with 
out  a  combined  effort  on  the  part  of  the  na 
tives,  extinction  was  certain.  Fired  with  de 
termination  to  break  the  growing  power  of 
the  Long-knives  (as  the  Americans  were 
called),  he  formed  a  federation  of  nations 
for  the  purpose  of  putting  a  stop  to  emigra 
tion,  claiming  that  their  possessions  were 
common  property  and  could  not  be  trans 
ferred  without  the  consent  of  all. 


*92  LEGENDS  OP  THE  KAW. 

He  incited  the  Indians  to  hostilities,  go 
ing  from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another, 
accompanied  by  two  warriors  of  exceptional 
bravery.  Sa-wa-co-ta  (Yellow  Cloud)  and  Wa- 
se-go-bo-ah  (Stand  Firm)  were  the  sons  of  a 
Ohippewa  mother.  Their  father,  a  French 
officer,  had  gone  back  to  his  own  land  at  the 
close  of  the  French  and  Indian  War.  Prior 
to  his  departure,  the  unfortunate  wife,  learn 
ing  of  the  proposed  desertion,  and  discover 
ing  that  her  children  were  to  be  placed  on 
board  the  ship  which  would  soon  sail  across 
the  seas,  fled  with  the  babes  and  found 
a  refuge  among  the  Shawnees,  where  the 
boys  grew  to  manhood.  Tall,  straight  and 
commanding,  with  all  the  intensity  of  the 
Latin  races,  and  the  wildness  and  stoicism 
of  the  aborigines,  they  were  well  fitted  for 
positions  of  trust  under  Tecumseh. 

Indian  traits  predominated  in  Sa-wa-co-ta, 
the  older  of  the  brothers.  His  dark  com 
plexion,  high  cheek  bones  and  flashing  eyes 
bespoke,  to  a  marked  degree,  a  savage  lin 
eage;  while  the  open  countenance  of  Wa-se- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  193 

go-bo-ah  showed  a  stronger  tendency  toward 
the  father's  kindred.  From  early  childhood, 
there  had  been  in  his  manner,  a  refinement 
and  superiority  that  denoted  a  long  line  of 
cultured  ancestors  from  the  nobility  of 
France.  Here,  even  in  the  wilds  of  Amer 
ica,  was  that  distinction  observed  and  re 
spected  by  a  barbarous  people. 

Young  and  old  alike  listened  with  quiet 
approval  when  the  lips  of  Wa-se-go-bo-ah 
opened  to  give  advice,  and  the  sister  of  Te- 
cumseh,  Tecumapease,  heard  with  trembling 
joy  the  words  his  eyes  had  long  since  spoken, 
and  betrothal  followed.  But  there  was  one 
of  dark  and  evil  face  and  strange  demeanor, 
the  older  brother  of  Tecumapease,  who  gazed 
with  hatred  on  her  future  lord,  and  would,  if 
possible,  prevent  the  nuptials.  The  prophet, 
Elkswatawa  (Loud  Voice),  fearing  the  influ 
ence  of  the  warrior  Stand  Firm  might  ex 
ceed  his  own,  opposed  the  union. 

Tecumseh,  having  returned  from  a  pilgrim 
age  to  a  distant  tribe,  was  seated  in  his 
cabin,  awaiting  the  coming  of  the  prophet. 


194  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

He  regarded  with  contempt  the  luxuries  of 
life,  and  when  at  home  in  the  new  Piqua  vil 
lage,  resided  in  a  log  hut  chinked  with  mud. 
The  ancient  town  had  been  destroyed  by 
white  soldiers,  and  its  namesake  founded 
near  the  Great  Miami  River.  A  nose  ring 
with  three  silver  crosses,  and  a  few  stripes 
of  brilliant  paint  gave  a  look  of  ferocity  to 
the  bright  intelligent  face  of  the  chief;  and 
a  medallion  of  George  the  Third,  on  a  wam 
pum  string,  hung  around  his  neck.  Buckskin 
leggings,  moccasins  decorated  with  porcupine 
quills,  a  deerskin  jacket  and  a  blue  breech- 
cloth  completed  the  odd  uniform. 

Elkswatawa  entered,  clad  in  garments 
made  from  the  skins  of  wild  animals.  In 
addition  to  these,  a  kind  of  turban  sur 
mounted  with  bunches  of  feathers,  a  nose 
ring,  large  earrings,  hideously  painted  cheeks, 
and  a  sightless  eye,  the  other  gleaming  with 
malignant  fire,  were  well  calculated  to  in 
spire  terror.  The  man  was  an  object  of  su 
perstitious  awe  to  the  Northwestern  Indians. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  195 

In  vain  he  sought  to  change  the  mind 
of  him  who  had  decided  to  bestow  Tecurna- 
pease  upon  the  most  beloved  of  all  the 
braves.  The  wily  Prophet  appealed  without 
effect  to  that  innate  love  of  power,  strong 
in  persons  that  are  born  to  rule.  The  Shoot 
ing  Star  looked  deep  beneath  the  surface, 
and  discerned,  within  the  heart  of  Loud  Voice, 
envy  and  unfounded  dread  of  the  growing 
popularity  of  Wa-se-go-bo-ah. 

The  Prophet  left  in  anger;  and  collecting 
a  few  followers,  betook  himself  to  a  new  lo 
cality,  the  present  site  of  Greenville,  where 
he  established  a  town. 

Attracted  by  stories  of  wonderful  deeds^ 
savages  from  different  directions  flocked  to 
the  place.  It  was  rumored  that  the  seer 
could  make  pumpkins  as  large  as  wigwams 
come  up  out  of  the  ground,  and  that  one 
ear  of  his  corn  would  feed  six  men;  that  he 
was  invulnerable,  and  had  all  knowledge  of 
the  present,  past  and  future.  Many  of  the 
Shawnees  considered  Elkswatawa  an  impos 
tor  and  refused  to  enter  into  any  plans  against 


196  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

the  Government.  Tecumseh  frowned  upon 
them,  and  spent  much  time,  when  not  upon 
his  travels,  at  the  Prophet's  town. 

General  Harrison,  Governor  of  the  Terri 
tory  of  Indiana,  became  alarmed  and  sent  a 
letter  to  the  brothers,  inviting  them  to  Vin- 
cennes,  for  the  purpose  of  making  known 
their  grievances.  To  the  intense  fright  of 
the  inhabitants,  they  responded  with  an  es 
cort  of  four  hundred  fully  armed  warriors. 
At  the  appointed  hour,  on  the  morning  of 
the  Twelfth  of  August,  1808,  Tecumseh  ad 
vanced,  with  thirty  chosen  men,  to  the  place 
of  meeting  in  front  of  the  Governor's  resi 
dence.  By  his  side  were  Stand  Firm,  now 
the  husband  of  Tecumapease,  and  Yellow 
Cloud.  An  aid-de-camp  pointed  to  a  seat 
by  General  Harrison,  and  addressing  the 
chief,  said : 

"Your  father  requests  you  to  take  a  seat." 
Drawing  his  blanket  more  closely  around 
him,  Tecumseh  replied: 

"The  Sun  is  my  father  and  the  Earth  is  my 
mother;  on  her  bosom  will  I  repose";  and 
flung  himself  upon  the  ground. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  197 

His  speech  at  the  council  has  gone  down 
in  history  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  on 
record,  for  native  oratory.  A  spirited  an 
swer,  with  a  refusal  to  return  the  lands  in 
question,  aroused  the  braves,  who,  at  a  sig 
nal,  seized  their  war  clubs.  Tomahawks  were 
brandished  in  a  threatening  way.  Bloodshed 
was  averted  only  by  the  coolness  and  tact  of 
the  Governor. 

In  the  confusion  which  resulted,  Wa-se- 
go-bo-ah  fell  heavily  forward,  stricken  down, 
supposedly,  by  a  white  foe.  The  unconscious 
man  was  borne  to  the  Indian  camp.  As  no 
wound  could  be  discovered  on  first  examina 
tion,  the  Americans  were  accused  of  employ 
ing  supernatural  power.  Then  a  small  bruise 
was  found  at  the  base  of  the  brain,  similar 
to  one  produced  by  a  missile.  Gradually  the 
favorite  of  the  people  recovered;  and  as  he 
lay  upon  the  grass,  enveloped  in  a  thick  blank 
et,  he  turned,  and  suddenly  beheld  a  terrible 
figure,  with  horns  and  one  fierce  gleaming  eye, 
burning  like  a  coal  of  fire,  creep  stealthily 


198  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

toward  him.  Its  hand  was  raised  to  strike, 
and  in  the  claw-like  fingers  was  clutched  a 
glittering  knife.  Frozen  with  horror,  he  re 
mained  for  a  moment  immovable,  then,  quick 
as  thought,  rolled  under  the  arm  of  the 
crouching  demon — evading  the  blade  almost 
by  miracle — and  struck  against  its  breast.  A 
desperate  struggle  ensued,  in  which  Stand 
Firm  secured  possession  of  the  weapon.  Hold 
ing  it  aloft,  he  caught  at  the  throat  of  the 
hairy -faced  monster  and  the  mask  came  off, 
disclosing  the  features  of  the  Prophet. 

"Elkswatawa,  N-tha-thah  (my  brother), 
why  do  you  seek  my  life?  Go,  for  the  sake 
of  her  whose  eyes  are  as  the  stars  of  heaven, 
unharmed.  Their  light  shall  guide  me  into 
paths  of  peace.  Her  love  shall  teach  me  to 
forgive  your  murderous  wrath." 

The  creature  slunk  away;  and  the  noble 
conqueror  dreamed  that  night  of  the  little 
Piqua  village,  where  Tecumapease,  with  trust 
ful  heart,  besought  the  great  Master  of  Life 
to  preserve  him,  who,  even  while  she  prayed, 
escaped  the  grasp  of  death.  But  the  Mighty 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  199 

Being  who  controls  the  destiny  of  humanity, 
from  the  highest  even  to  the  lowest,  punished 
the  treacherous  seer,  when,  on  the  sixth  of 
November,  1811,  the  Indians,  in  direct  vio 
lation  of  a  truce,  advanced  upon  the  United 
States  troops  under  General  Harrison,  en 
camped  within  a  mile  of  the  Prophet's  Town. 

The  Magic  Bowl,  the  Sacred  Torch  and 
the  Holy  String  of  Beans  were  touched,  and 
the  savages,  believing  themselves  invulner 
able,  rushed  upon  the  tents  of  the  Americans 
at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Tecumseh 
was  absent  upon  a  visit  to  the  Creeks,  Choc- 
taws  and  Chickasaws.  The  cowardly  Prophet 
stood,  at  a  safe  distance  from  the  battle 
ground,  going  through  religious  mummeries 
and  singing  a  war  song. 

Complete  victory  established  the  fame  of 
General  Harrison;  and  the  Battle  of  Tippe- 
canoe  was  one  of  the  most  important  in  re 
sults,  of  that  period.  The  destruction  of  their 
village  scattered  the  tribes  over  a  large  area. 
Elkswatawa  took  refuge  with  a  few  Wyan- 
dots  on  Wild  Gat  Greek.  Eventually,  he  re- 


2oo  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

moved  to  Kansas  and  died  in  Shawnee  Town 
ship,  Wyandotte  County.  His  grave  has  no 
headstone,  and  those  interested  in  the  early 
history  of  the  State  have  sought  in  vain  for 
some  distinguishing  mark. 

The  really  great  Tecumseh,  returning  to 
find  all  his  schemes  defeated,  became  an  ally 
of  the  British.  Much  of  the  trouble  with  the 
white  settlers  had  been  occasioned  through 
their  agency.  The  two  friends  of  the  rebel 
lious  chief  faithfully  followed  his  fortunes. 
If  Fate  dealt  hardly  with  him,  they  shared 
the  danger  and  disappointment.  If  kindly, 
the  triumph  was  theirs,  also. 

Sa-wa-co-ta  was  killed  at  Frenchtown,  by 
a  ball  intended  for  his  superior.  The  Amer 
icans,  closely  pursued,  had  sought  shelter  be 
hind  houses  and  fences  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Kiver  Kaisin.  The  Indians,  by  a  detour, 
had  gained  the  woods  in  the  rear  and  were 
protected.  Disdaining  to  skulk  from  tree  to 
tree,  the  fiery  warrior,  with  Tecumseh  and  a 
small  number  of  brave  men,  pressed  boldly 
upon  the  fugitives.  Observing  that  their 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  201 

leader  was  singled  out  by  the  enemy,  his  com 
panions  closed  in  around  the  chief  to  shield 
him,  at  the  moment  that  Yellow  Cloud  step 
ped  in  front,  for  the  same  purpose.  The 
latter  fell,  heart  and  brain  penetrated  by  bul 
lets.  Thus  nobly  ended  the  life  of  Sa-wa-eo- 
ta,  of  whose  achievements,  even  the  noted 
chiefs,  Roundhead,  Panther  and  Blue  Jacket, 
might  well  be  proud. 

History  has  recorded  the  outcome  of  the 
struggle,  and  traced  the  wanderings  of  those 
who,  deprived  of  their  inheritance  and  driv 
en  to  desperation,  united  with  the  foes  of 
America. 

General  Proctor,  discouraged  by  Perry's 
victory  on  Lake  Erie,  that  occurred  some 
time  later,  fled  from  Maiden,  where  he  was 
stationed  at  the  time,  with  eight  hundred 
soldiers  and  two  thousand  Indians.  General 
Harrison  overtook  the  combined  forces  near 
the  Eiver  Thames.  During  the  battle,  Col 
onel  Johnson  and  the  Kentucky  cavalry  were 
ordered  to  charge.  Galloping  forward,  they 
broke  through  the  lines  and  formed  again, 


202  LEGENDS  OF  THE  RAW. 

when  the  English  surrendered.  Tecumseh  be 
gan  the  conflict  with  fury,  fighting  more 
fiercely  than  ever  before.  His  voice  could 
be  heard  above  the  din,  inspiring  the  men, 
to  make  every  exertion;  but  the  day  was 
lost.  Colonel  Johnson,  engaged  in  a  hand-to 
hand  contest  with  a  fine,  well-built  Indian, 
was  wounded  by  another,  as  soon  as  he  had 
despatched  the  first.  The  second  assailant 
then  sprang  toward  him  with  a  tomahawk, 
when  the  officer  drew  a  pistol  and  killed  his 
antagonist.  The  rest  of  the  savages,  losing 
hope,  gave  way. 

Mght  came  on,  but  the  heavens  were  dark. 
The  Shooting  Star  would  never  more  be  seen. 
The  ringing  voice  was  silent;  and  Tecuma- 
pease,  his  sister,  waited  in  vain  for  the  re 
turn  of  her  lord.  Stand  Firm,  "faithful  un 
to  death/'  had  fallen  beside  the  chief.  Next 
morning,  the  bodies  of  two  warriors,  with 
dignity  of  face  and  form,  were  found,  not  far 
apart,  upon  the  bloody  field. 

Tecumseh  was  the  greatest,  most  mag 
nanimous,  and  bravest  man  the  red  race  had 


THE  SHAWNEE  PROPHET. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW;  203 

ever  known.  Now  that  his  brilliant  oratory 
no  longer  swayed  the  multitudes,  organized 
resistance  to  settlement  north  of  the  Ohio 
River  ceased.  Tecumapease,  to  whom  had 
been  entrusted  the  care  of  her  brother's  child, 
died  a  few  years  later,  and  the  boy,  together 
with  her  son,  drifted,  with  the  Shawnees, 
from  reservation  to  reservation.  For  many 
years  they  lived  in  Eastern  Kansas,  where 
the  descendants  of  Tecumapease  still  reside, 
and  relate,  with  pardonable  pride,  the  ex 
ploits  of  their  forefathers. 

The  tardiness  of  the  red  race  in  accept 
ing  civilization,  has  long  been  a  subject  of 
comment.  Yet  the  barbarian  should  not  be 
censured,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  paler-faced 
youth,  with  all  the  benefits  accruing  from 
past  generations  of  culture,  have,  in  many  in 
stances,  taken  readily  to  aboriginal  customs. 
It  was  a  part  of  the  religion  of  all  Indian 
nations  to  increase  their  number  by  adop 
tion.  Frequently  white  children  were  spir- 

14- 


204  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

ited  away  from  home  and  carried  from  place 
to  place,  in  order  to  evade  pursuit.  Almost 
invariably,  after  a  lapse  of  time,  they  not 
only  became  reconciled  to  savage  modes  of 
living,  but  preferred  them.  A  notable  case 
was  that  of 

CHINWA,   THE  WHITE  WARRIOR. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
before  the  Shawnees  had  emigrated  to  the 
Valley  of  the  Kaw,  there  was  a  famous  old 
chief  named  Black  Fish,  who  was  untiring  in 
activity  against  the  white  settlers.  During 
one  of  the  numerous  periods  of  hostility, 
Chinwa,  the  only  son  of  this  warrior,  was 
killed;  and  the  grief-stricken  father  said  to 
his  braves, 

"Go,  go  and  find  me  a  boy  to  replace 
my  son." 

Putting  on  their  black  paint,  the  Indians 
went  over  the  Alleghanies  into  Virginia. 

In  a  prosperous  settlement  in  Western 
Virginia  lived  a  wealthy  planter  named 
Rogers.  His  family  consisted  of  himself,  his 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  205 

wife  and  two  young  sons.  One  quiet  even 
ing  in  early  fall,  the  boys  were  allowed  to 
go  for  the  cows  unaccompanied  by  the  serv 
ant  who  ordinarily  acted  as  body  guard.  The 
beautiful  autumn  woods  were  aglow  with 
color,  and  the  children's  exuberance  of  spir 
its  burst  forth  in  shouts  and  other  noisy 
demonstrations. 

As  little  Henry  lingered  to  seize  a  bril 
liant  spray  of  rich-tinted  foliage,  two  hideous 
black-painted  savages  sprang  from  the  bushes 
and  caught  him  before  he  had  time  to  call 
for  assistance.  The  frightened  child  was 
borne  hastily  away,  through  the  forest,  over 
the  mountains,  to  an  Indian  village  where 
Black  Fish  received  him  with  open  arms, 
saying: 

"Don't  be  afraid;  you  are  now  my  son — 
my  Chinwa.  Here,  take  his  bow  and  arrows; 
here  are  his  gun  and  knapsack.  Some  day 
you  will  be  a  great  chief." 

Henry  was  adopted  into  the  tribe,  and  for 
getting  his  former  home,  learned  to  be  con 
tent  with  the  wild  life  of  the  Shawnees.  A 


206  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

fine  horse  and  saddle  were  a  constant  source 
of  pleasure,  and  persistent  practice  made  the 
boy  expert  in  the  use  of  bow  and  arrows. 

As  he  grew  older,  Chinwa  became  a  suc 
cessful  hunter,  and  was  looked  upon  with 
pride  and  admiration  by  his  sisters.  The 
youngest  of  these,  pretty  little  Chelatha, 
was  sought  in  marriage  by  many  braves; 
but  old  Black  Fish,  waiting  for  the  day 
when  Chinwa  should  declare  his  love,  re 
pulsed  their  advances  with  disdain.  At 
length  the  young  chief  could  no  longer  con 
ceal  his  regard  from  the  object  of  his  affec 
tion,  and  implored  her  to  become  his  bride. 
She  replied  with  indignation: 

"You  are  my  brother.  1  could  not  be  my 
brother's  wife." 

After  a  long  conference  with  Watmeme, 
the  mother,  in  which  the  entire  circumstances 
were  explained,  Chelatha  said: 

"If  father  says  so,  I  will  marry  Chinwa." 

Amid  great  rejoicing,  the  pale-face  took 
her  to  his  habitation,  and  the  tribe  eel- 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  207 

ebrated  the  event  with  feasting  and  strange 
ceremonies. 

Excitement  prevailed  in  the  Rogers  house 
hold  when  Henry  was  captured,  and  a  search 
had  been  prosecuted  wherever  a  clue  could 
could  be  obtained.  Long  years  after  the  dis 
appearance  of  her  younger  son,  sorrow  still 
reigned  in  the  heart  of  the  bereaved  moth 
er;  and  it  was  with  fear  and  trembling  at  last, 
that  the  older  brother,  receiving  tidings  of 
the  lost  one,  traced  him  over  the  mountain 
ranges,  into  the  beautiful  blue  -  grass  coun 
try,  to  the  land  of  Daniel  Boone. 

The  meeting  was  a  happy  one,  though 
marked  by  some  constraint  —  the  result  of 
years  of  separation  and  widely  different  sur 
roundings.  Henry  was  persuaded  to  leave  his 
western  home  and  repair  to  the  aged  mother, 
now  prostrated  by  severe  illness.  Once 
more  within  the  confines  of  civilization,  he 
abandoned  the  insignia  of  savage  life,  and 
adopted  the  garb  of  his  own  people.  Unus 
ual  festivities  followed:  the  mother,  recov 
ering  strength,  employed  every  art  to  retain 


208  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

him,  but  without  success.  In  vain  the  pretty 
maidens  of  the  village  exerted  all  their  power 
to  please.  Memories  of  a  happy  life  in  the 
wilderness  were  always  present,  and  he  said: 

"Mother,  I  have  learned  to  love  the  In 
dians;  there  I  am  free.  I  love  my  two  chil 
dren  and  my  dark-haired  wife." 

The  next  morning  the  colored  servant  was 
commanded  to  bring  his  horse,  and  Chinwa, 
the  warrior,  in  all  the  splendor  of  beads  and 
buckskin,  bade  farewell  to  the  home  of  his 
infancy.  How  fresh  and  sweet  was  the  breath 
of  the  woods,  as  he  dashed  into  her  depths! 
The  delicate  blossoms  of  spring  lifted  their 
dainty  heads  and  scattered  perfume  along  the 
narrow  trail.  The  cloudless  sky  and  the  dis 
tant  mountains  seemed  to  beckon  him  on  to 
the  loved  ones  who  at  that  moment  were 
waiting,  longing  for  the  wanderer's  return. 

Time  sped  by  on  rapid  wings,  and  soon 
Chelatha  —  sitting  lonely  in  her  doorway, 
said  to  her  little  ones: 

"Listen,  I  hear  the  voice  of  your  father." 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  209 

Again  the  faint  call  was  borne  through  the 
distance  and  reverberated  in  her  anxious 
heart.  Then  its  beatings  responded  to  the 
sound  of  horse's  hoofs,  and  the  next  moment, 
Chinwa,  the  brave,  sprang  to  the  ground  and 
caught  her  in  his  arms,  saying: 

"I  have  come  home — home  to  my  Chela- 
tha,  never  to  leave  her  more." 

All  the  pleasures,  all  the  riches  which  the 
world  can  give  are  as  nothing  when  weighed 
in  the  balance  against  the  sincere  love  of  one 
devoted  heart. 

The  Shawnees,  like  other  Indian  tribes, 
were  firm  believers  in  evil  spirits;  and  when 
it  was  thought  that  one  had  become  possessed 
of  a  demon,  did  not  hesitate  to  employ  heroic 
measures  to  drive  it  out.  To  such  supersti 
tions  may  be  ascribed 

THE  TRAGIC  DEATH  OP  THE  SON  OP  CHIEF 
LAY-LAW-SHE-KAW. 

When  the  present  site  of  the  city  of  To- 
peka  was  the  hunting-ground  of  the  Shawnee 


2io  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

Indians  there  was  a  fierce  war  with  the 
Pawnees. 

Chief  Lay-law-she-kaw  (He  Who  Goes  Up 
the  Kiver)  had  been  successful  in  many  bat 
tles  and  pursued  the  enemy  far  into  their 
own  territory.  At  length,  in  desperation,  the 
Pawnees  gathered  strength,  and  making  a 
final  effort  for  the  preservation  of  their 
homes,  surprised  the  victorious  Shawnees 
while  encamped  among  the  hills  along  the 
river. 

In  the  thick  of  the  fight,  Pa-che-ta,  the 
son  of  Lay-law-she-kaw,  sprang  to  the  side 
of  the  old  chief,  just  as  a  powerful  warrior 
raised  his  tomahawk  to  cleave  his  skull.  In 
another  moment  the  leader  would  have  fallen, 
had  not  the  young  brave,  with  the  utmost 
coolness,  lifted  his  rifle,  taken  quick  aim  and 
fired.  With  a  horrible  yell,  the  Pawnee  sank 
to  the  ground.  Attracted  by  his  cry,  three 
others  appeared.  Again  the  rifle  did  sudden 
duty,  while  Lay-law-she-kaw  engaged  the 
nearest  enemy.  Two  more  were  despatched, 
and  now  Pa-che-ta  turned  to  face  the  remain- 


ppp 


CHE-LA-THA. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  211 

ing  Pawnee,  who  had  approached  too  near 
for  rifles,  and  endeavored  to  use  the  toma 
hawk.  This  was  dashed  from  his  hand.  The 
two  grappled  fiercely,  each  striving  to  get 
the  knife  out  of  his  belt.  At  last  Pa-che-ta 
succeeded  in  holding  down  his  adversary,  and 
plunged  the  knife  deep  into  his  heart. 
Blinded  by  the  blood,  which  spurted  up  in 
to  his  face,  the  Shawnee  staggered  to  his 
feet  and  ran  forward  a  short  distance,  only 
to  find  himself  in  the  midst  of  the  attack 
ing  Indians.  Desperately  he  fought  his  way 
out.  striking  right  and  left,  wounded  and 
faint.  Then,  seeing  a  gulley  surrounded  with 
bushes,  he  rolled  into  it,  and  creeping  pain 
fully  to  the  edge  of  a  pond,  waded  into  the 
water. 

The  Pawnees  lost  the  trail.  They  looked 
here  and  there  while  the  main  body  pursued 
old  Lay-law-she-kaw  and  his  braves  to  the 
country  of  the  Raws.  Night  fell;  and  still 
Pa-che-ta  lay  concealed  in  the  lake  among 
the  tall  grass.  At  the  end  of  the  second  day 
the  search  was  abandoned. 


212  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

Then  the  prisoner,  half  starved  and  half 
demented,  draped  himself  slowly  homeward. 
A  few  berries  and  roots  had  been  his  sole 
food,  and  the  burning  rays  of  the  sun  had 
beaten  down  upon  his  head,  until  reason 
tottered. 

The  people  went  wild  with  enthusiasm 
when  their  hero,  emaciated  but  triumphant, 
appeared  in  the  village.  He  was  taken  to 
Lay-law-she-kaw's  habitation  and  provided 
with  nourishment,  but  sank  into  a  stupor 
from  which  the  medicine  men,  with  all  their 
skill,  could  not  arouse  him. 

After  many  days  he  awakened;  great 
was  the  rejoicing.  His  father  appointed  a 
day  of  feasting;  and  the  tribe  gathered  to 
do  honor  to  him  who  had  fought  so  bravely 
in  the  face  of  defeat.  Cattle  were  slaugh 
tered,  fires  were  kindled,  and  strange  dances 
were  in  progress  when  Pa-che-ta  approached. 
Demonstrations  of  joy  greeted  his  appearance. 
Among  the  children  on  the  outer  edge  of 
the  circle,  stood  little  N-tha-thah,  gazing 
proudly  at  the  big  brother  who  would  one 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  213 

day  be  his  chief.  As  the  excitement  in 
creased,  his  heart  swelled  with  pride,  and 
the  next  moment  found  him,  bow  and  arrows 
in  hand,  the  center  of  the  charmed  circle. 

Pa-che-ta  gazed  at  the  child  with  a  strange 
look  in  his  piercing  black  eyes.  Then,  with 
a  stealthy  movement,  he  turned  and  slowly 
reached  for  the  rifle  which  rested  against  the 
stump  of  a  tree. 

Lay-law-she-kaw,  keen  witted  and  alert, 
noticed  the  sudden  change  that  came  over 
the  face  of  his  eldest  son.  What  was  the 
cause  of  that  cruel,  crafty  expression?  Had 
bad  spirits  entered  the  brain  of  Pa-che-ta, 
whose  noble  deeds  would  ever  after  be  cele 
brated  by  the  nation?  Now  the  brave  was 
creeping  cautiously  toward  the  little  one, 
who  stood  motionless,  in  round-eyed  wonder. 
Deliberately  he  placed  the  weapon  to  his 
shoulder  and  took  aim — but  the  crack  of  an 
other  rifle  broke  the  awful  hush  which  had 
fallen  upon  the  people,  and  when  the  smoke 
cleared  away,  Pa-che-ta  lay  in  a  pool  of  blood. 


214  LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW. 

The  father  had  fired  in  time  to  preserve  his 
young  child. 

For  many  years  the  old  women  of  the 
tribe  told,  in  accents  of  awe,  how  evil  spirits 
had  gone  into  the  brain  of  their  noblest  war 
rior  and  looked  out  of  his  eyes  with  terrible 
glances  of  murderous  hatred,  in  the  moment 
of  his  greatest  triumph.  How  they  had  been 
driven  out  with  a  rifle  ball,  and  Lay-law-she- 
kaw,  0-kee-imh  (the  chief),  sorrowing  for  his 
first  born,  had  that  day  been  called  by  the 
Great  Spirit  to  enter  the  Happy  Hunting 
Grounds. 

The  North  American  Indian  was  of  a 
strange,  somewhat  contradictory  character: 
in  war,  daring,  cunning,  boastful,  ruthless; 
in  peace,  cheerful,  dignified,  superstitious, 
revengeful;  clinging  as  far  as  possible,  to  the 
customs  of  his  forefathers.  Civilization  came 
almost  as  a  destroyer.  Future  generations 
will  know  him  only  as  a  dim,  historic  figure, 
around  which  clusters  the  mythology  of  an 
cient  America. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  KAW.  215 

Whence  came  these  legends  and  tradi 
tions?  The  children  of  Nature  read  them  in 
the  leafy  woodlands,  on  the  broad  prairie,  in 
the  blue  vault  of  heaven,  the  crimson  sun 
set,  the  dark  storm-threatening  clouds,  in 
every  gentle  breeze  or  sweeping  hurricane. 
Each  story  lived  in  the  hearts  of  the  peo 
ple,  and  here  and  there  a  mighty  forest  tree 
bore  a  quaint  inscription 

"Full  of  hope  and  yet  of  heart-break, 
Full  of  all  the  tender  pathos 
Of  the  Here  and  the  Hereafter." 


"The  stars,  and  hills  and  storms  are  with 
us  now,  as  they  were  with  others  of  old; 
and  it  only  needs  that  we  look  at  them  with 
the  earnestness  of  those  childish  eyes,  to 
understand  the  first  wiords  spoken  of  them 
by  the  children  of  men,  and  then,  in  all  the 
most  beautiful  and  enduring  myths,  we  shall 
find,  not  only  a  literal  story  of  a  real  person, 
not  only  a  parallel  imagery  of  moral  princi 
ple,  but  an  underlying  worship  of  natural 
phenomena,  out  of  which  both  have  sprung, 
and  in  which  both  forever  remain  rooted." 

Euskin. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED  , 

LOAN  DEPT. 

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